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SHRAPNEL 

ID  OTHER  V 

MATERIAL 


SHRAPNEL 

AND  OTHER  WAR 

MATERIAL 


SHRAPNEL 

AND  OTHER  WAR 

MATERIAL 

A    REPRINT    OF    IMPORTANT 
ARTICLES  PRESENTED  IN  THE 

American  Machinist 

From  January  to  June,  1915 

n  m 


First  Edition 
Third  Impression 


McGRAW-HILL  BOOK  COMPANY,  INC. 

239'  WEST  39th  STREET,  NEW  YORK 
6,  BOUVERIE  STREET,  LONDON,  E.  C. 


r\l,° 


/ 


Shrapnel  and  Other  War  Material 

NATION  depends  very  largely  upon  its  machine  shops 
for  industrial  prosperity  in  time  of  peace — for  machinery 
building  is  the  basic  industry  upon  which  all  manufac- 
turing depends.  In  time  of  war  these  same  machine 
shops  must  produce  the  materials  for  defense,  a  lesson 
which  the  Canadian  shops  have  learned  to  the  fullest  extent  dur- 
ing the  past  few  months. 

Thus  as  a  patriotic  measure,  it  behooves  machine-shop  owners  and 
managers  to  become  familiar  with  the  general  methods  of  making 
munitions  of  war,  and  to  analyze  their  own  capabilities  along  these 
lines  if  occasion  to  put  them  to  use  should  arise.  This  is  not  predict- 
ing in  the  slightest  degree  that  the  occasion  will  arise,  but  advocates 
a  business-like  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  machinery-building  indus- 
tries of  our  country.  The  adoption  of  this  attitude  will  eliminate 
serious  delay  if  the  remote  possibility  should  ever  become  a  fact. 

But  entirely  aside  from  this  feature  of  the  subject,  descriptions  of 
processes  that  have  been  developed  to  produce  shells,  guns  and  other 
war  material  are  of  value  in  themselves.  The  methods  now  being 
used  in  Canada  and  the  United  States  are  strictly  uptodate.  Standard 
automatic  machines,  and  in  some  cases  special  automatic  machines, 
are  being  used.  Beyond  all  this,  regular  machine-shop  equipment 
has  been  adapted  by  developing  special  holders,  fixtures  and  cutting 
tools.  The  inspection  system  is  most  rigorous.  Limit  gages  are 
plentifully  used.  Not  only  are  many  of  the  dimensions  expressed  in 
thousandths  or  parts  of  a  thousandth  of  an  inch,  but  the  weight  of 
large  pieces  must  be  held  within  a  few  drams  of  the  fixed  standard. 

Thus  from  the  double  viewpoint  of  meeting  a  patriotic  duty  and 
learning  of  advanced  shop  practice  the  manufacture  of  war  munitions, 
as  set  forth  in  the  following  pages,  deserves  careful  consideration  of 
everyone  engaged  in  machinery  building. 


33800; 


Copyright  1915 
HILL  PUBLISHING  CO. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

What  a  Shrapnel  Is  and  Does                .....  5 

The  French  75-mm.  Shrapnel            .            .            .           .            .  .6 

Forging  the  Blanks  for  18-lb.  British  Shrapnel — I      ...  7 

Siege-Gun  Tractors     .            .            .            .            .            .            .  .11 

Forging  the  Blanks  for  18-lb.  British  Shrapnel— II    .            .            .  12 

Manufacturing  Shrapnel  Parts  on  Automatic  Machines              .  .18 

Making  the  18-lb.  British  Shrapnel— I              ....  23 

Making  the  18-lb.  British  Shrapnel— II      .            .            .            .  .31 

No  Discrimination            .......  39 

The  Double-Spindle  Flat-Turret  and  the  18-lb.  Shrapnel            .  .     40 

Demands  of  War  on  Industry    ......  42 

A  Bridge  Shop  Transformed  into  an  Arsenal         .            .            .  .43 

Machinery  After  the  War            ......  47 

Punching  Steel  Disks  for  British  Shrapnel  Shells              .            .  .48 

A  Lathe  for  Shrapnel  Manufacture       .            .            .            .            .  51 

Tin  Powder  Cups  for  18-lb.  British  Shrapnel        .            .            .  .52 

Flechettes  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .53 

A  Possible  Deciding  Factor               .            .            .            .            .  .53 

The  Manufacture  of  18-Pounder  Shrapnel-Shell  Sockets  and  Plugs  54 

Automatic  Production  of  Shrapnel-  and  Explosive-Shell  Parts  .  .     55 

Work  of  the  Canadian  Shell  Committee           ....  62 

The  Effect  of  War  on  Machine  Tools          .            .            .            .  .64 

The  Angus  Shops  in  Wartime     ......  65 

Contraband      .........     70 

Making  Shell-Forging  Presses     .            .            .            .            .            .  71 

Armored  Motor  Truck           .            .            .            .            .            .  .74 

Drawing  18-lb.  Cartridge  Cases  on  Bulldozers  and  Frog  Planers — I  75 
To  Machine-Tool  Builders    .......     80 

Drawing  18-lb.  Cartridge  Cases  on  Bulldozers  and  Frog  Planers — II  81 

Material  for  Brass  Parts  of  Shells    .            .            .            .            .  .84 

Cartridge  Heading  Presses  and  Accumulators  at  the  Angus  Shops  85 

The  Manufacturing  of  Cartridge  Cases       .            .            .            .  .89 

Forging  3.3  Shrapnel  Blanks  on  Steam  Hammers  and  Bulldozers    .  93 


•    1    1 
I*    *     •  * 


.F£rpini< 


Is  and  Does 


By  J.  P.  Brophy* 


SYNOPSIS — Shrapnel  have  proved  to  be  invalu- 
able tools  in  modern  warfare,  which  consists  so 
largely  of  trench  storming  and  defense.  Compar- 
atively few  know  how  the  shrapnel  is  timed  to  ex- 
plode at  the  right  moment,  or  how  the  destructive 
rain  of  shot  is  caused  by  the  internal  explosion. 
The  following  article  explains  these  points  and 
conveys  a  clear  idea  of  what  a  modern  shrapnel 
really  is. 

Shrapnel  shells  of  all  countries  have  a  similar  outside 
appearance,  although  they  vary  slightly  in  length  and 
form.  Inside  they  are  all  somewhat  similar,  but  the 
various  parts  may  be  of  different  shapes.  The  final  re- 
sult, however,  is  practically  the  same. 

The  illustration  shows  a  shrapnel  shell  casing  such  as  is 
being  used  so  extensively  in  the  European  war.  These 
shells  are  manufactured  in  sizes  from  2  to  15  in.  in  diam- 
eter. The  following  description  will  perhaps  be  interest- 
ing: 

The  brass  shell  A  that  envelops  the  outside  of  the 
shrapnel  casing  is  filled  with  powder,  which  is  carefully 
measured  to  have  the  exact  amount  in  each  shell.  This 
powder  is  ignited  similarly  to  a  cartridge  in  a  gun  and 
is  intended  to  discharge  the  shell  from  the  gun. 


keeps  the  shrapnel  in  practically  a  straight  line  laterally 
in  its  flight.  If  the  gun  did  not  have  spiral  grooves,  when 
the  shrapnel  started  to  travel  it  would  swerve  against  the 
resistance  of  the  air,  which  would  make  it  impossible  to 
determine  in  what  position  it  would  explode.  In  other 
words,  a  smooth-bored  gun  and  a  smooth-surface  shrapnel 
could  not  be  depended  upon  for  accuracy,  and  no  sci- 
entific calculations  could  be  made  whereby  shrapnel  fired 
one  after  another  would  land  in  about  the  same  place. 

From  this  explanation  it  will  be  understood  that  the 
piece  C  is  an  important  part  of  the  shrapnel. 

Details  of  Design 

A  steel  washer,  which  is  pressed  in  position,  is  shown 
at  D  separating  the  powder  pocket  from  the  chamber  of 
the  shrapnel  proper.  This  is  commonly  called  "the  dia- 
phragm." 

A  copper  tube  connecting  the  powder  pocket  B  with 
the  fuse  body  H  is  shown  at  F.  This  contains  an  igniting 
charge  of  gun  cotton  E  at  either  end. 

The  shell  casing  is  shown  at  0,  the  fuse  body  at  H 
and  a  powder  passage  J  is  shown  at  an  angle  connecting 
with  the  gun  cotton. 

The  threaded  connection  between  fuse  and  shrapnel 
bodies  at  I  is  of  fine  pitch,  so  that  when  the  powder  is 
ignited  at  B  the  threads  strip,  allowing  the  balls  to  be 


Packing 


'Copper 


Cross-Section  of  a  Common  Shrapnel 


At  B  is  a  powder  pocket  which  contains  the. necessary 
amount  of  powder  to  explode  the  casing  and  scatter  the 
charge. 

A  copper  band,  which  is  shrunk  and  also  hydraulically 
pressed  over  the  body  of  the  shell,  is  shown  at  C.  The 
outside  diameter  is  turned  somewhat  larger  than  the  gun 
bore,  which  is  rifled  or  grooved  in  a  spiral  through  its 
entire  length. 

When  the  shell  is  placed  in  the  gun,  the  breech  end 
admits  it  freely,  but  the  gun  bore  being  somewhat  smaller 
and  the  copper  being  soft  material,  it  is  compressed  and  a 
portion  of  the  copper  ring  sinks  into' these  spiral  grooves. 
Thus,  when  a  shell  is  fired  it  has  a  rotary  motion  corre- 
sponding to  the  spiral  of  the  gun,  which  means  that  the 
shrapnel  is  revolving  at  the  same  time  it  is  traveling 
longitudinally.     The  rotary  motion  is  so  rapid  that  it 


•Vice-president  and  general  manager,  Cleveland  Automatic 
Machine  Co. 


discharged.  After  the  powder  is  ignited,  if  the  pressure 
is  not  great  enough  to  destroy  the  thread,  the  shell  casing 
will  burst  at  the  end,  which  is  its  weakest  point,  and  open 
up  in  umbrella  shape,  the  balls  and  body  of  the  shell 
being  driven  with  great  force  in  all  directions  similar  to 
the  explosion  of  a  skyrocket.  This  is  very  destructive 
within  a  radius  of  60  ft.  from  where  the  explosion  occurs. 

The  Timing  Device 

We  are  now  coming  to  the  most  interesting  part  of  the 
shrapnel,  the  timing  device. 

The  time  ring,  graduated  on  its  periphery,  is  shown 
at  K.  This  controls  the  time  of  igniting  the  fuse  J. 
When  the  time  ring  is  set  to  zero  the  shell  explodes  just 
after  it  leaves  the  muzzle.  The  graduations  indicate  the 
explosion  time  at  practically  any  number  of  feet  de- 
sired up  to  the  full  range  of  the  gun.  On  the  inside  of 
the  graduated  ring  K  a  small  opening  is  milled  for  about 
three-fourths  of  a  circle,  so  that  the  fuse  cannot  burn  all 


[5] 


*  *  •  1      J*    9    *     V'   *       } 

*  •>  i  >»   *  •>' ! 

_«         ,  - 
way  around.    Ixr  this  small  opening  the  time  fuse  is  placed, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  the  ring  are  small  holes. 

A  loose  piece  N  moves  freely  and  carries  at  0  an  ignitible 
and  highly  explosive  substance,  which  is  so  sensitive  that 
if  one  drop  were  struck  with  a  lead  pencil  held  in  the 
hand,  it  would  shatter  the  end  of  the  pencil  before  it 
could  be  withdrawn. 

When  the  gun  is  in  position,  the  range  finder  immedi- 
ately estimates  the  distance  to  the  enemy,  and  this  infor- 
mation is  given  the  gunners.  The  ring  K  is  moved  to  the 
position  which  indicates  the  number  of  yards  the  shrapnel 
will  travel  after  leaving  the  gun  before  it  explodes.  This 
is  all  taken  care  of  in  a  few  moments.  The  fuse  on  the 
inside  of  ring  K,  when  ignited,  burns  in  the  direction 
that  leads  to  the  powder  passage  J,  and  the  time  taken 
to  reach  this  determines  the  distance  that  the  shrapnel  will 
travel  before  exploding. 

When  the  powder  at  J  commences  to  burn,  it  ignites 
the  gun  cotton  at  E,  and  the  flame  passes  through  the  tube 
F  to  the  gun  cotton  at  the  opposite  end,  igniting  the  pow- 
der at  B.  The  time  taken  by  the  flame  to  travel  from  J 
to  B  is  difficult  to  estimate  because  of  its  rapidity,  but  may 
be  compared  to  the  speed  of  electric  current. 

How  the  Fuse  Is  Ignited 

A  piece  called  a  "free-moving  slug"  is  shown  at  P.  The 
moment  the  gun  is  fired,  the  shrapnel  travels  with  such 
great  rapidity  that  it  causes  this  moving  slug  to  rebound 
and  come  in  contact  with  0.  The  ignitible  substance  at 
0  creates  a  flash,  which  burns  back  and  around  the  cham- 


jLead  90 


Steel  Taper 
Point 


•Steel  Stopscreir 


at  the  moment  it  comes  in  contact  with  any  object  in 
its  path,  and  extreme  destruction  at  this  point. 

Refinements  of  Destruction 

The  outside  shape  of  the  fuse  body  0  is  such  as  to  offer 
the  least  resistance;  in  other  words,  it  breaks  up  the  air 
as  it  bores  its  way  through.  If  this  nose  were  longer  or 
shorter,  or  a  different  shape,  it  would  offer  great  resist- 
ance, which  would  lessen  both  its  speed  and  its  range. 

The  muzzle  velocity  of  the  3-in.  shrapnel  shell,  which 
is  being  used  so  extensively  abroad,  varies  from  1500  to 
1900  ft.  per  sec.  during  the  first  second  of  flight,  and 
because  of  the  air  resistance,  diminishes  in  speed  grad- 
ually through  the  remaining  distance  that  it  travels.  The 
maximum  effective  range  is  about  6000  yd.,  and  as  the 
time  fuse  can  be  set  to  explode  at  100  yd.  or  less,  and 
at  any  point  up  to  6000  yd.,  the  time  it  would  take  to 
travel  100  yd.  would  be  about  one-sixth  second. 

The  balls  are  placed  in  the  position  shown  and  a  special 
wax  is  melted  and  poured  around  them  so  that  they  are 
practically  a  solid  mass.  The  destruction  which  takes 
place  when  these  balls,  traveling  at  great  velocity,  spread 
in  the  midst  of  hundreds  of  human  beings  can  easily  be 
imagined. 

m 

The  shrapnel  shell  used  in  the  celebrated  75-mm. 
French  field  gun  differs  in  many  details  from  the  Ameri- 
can and  British  shells.    No  powder  cup  is  used,  and  a  nose 


Red  Copper  Band 


Upper  Steel 
Diaphragm 


Steel  Shell  Body' 

French  75-mm.  Shrapnel 


Seat  of 
Diaphragm 


ber  to  the  powder  L,  which  leads  to  the  fuse  embedded  in 
the  face  of. the  graduated  ring  K.  The  time,  reckoned 
in  fractions  of  seconds,  that  it  takes  to  burn  the  fuse  in 
the  ring  K  before  it  reaches  the  powder  J  is  calculated 
according  to  the  distance  the  shell  travels  in  flight  before 
the  charge  is  to  be  ignited  at  B. 

If  the  shrapnel  fails  to  explode  at  the  correct  distance 
because  of  the  slug  P  not  responding,  then  at  the  moment 
it  comes  in  contact  with  anything  in  its  path  the  sudden 
impact  will  carry  forward  the  loose  piece  N,  which  is 
free  to  oscillate.  This  will  mean  a  contact  of  the  ignit- 
ible substance  at  O  with  the  piece  P.  Ignition  immedi- 
ately takes  place,  and  as  piece  N  is  in  the  forward  posi- 
tion, the  flame  will  travel  in  the  direction  of  M .  This 
action  reverses  the  direction  of  the  flash,  as  already  ex- 
plained. This  means  direct  ignition  through  the  powder 
passage  M  to  the  powder  pocket  B  at  lightning  speed.  The 
consequence  is  an  instantaneous  explosion  of  the  shell 


containing  balls  is  fitted  in  place  of  the  timer.  The  fuse 
is  screwed  into  this  nose,  the  thread  to  receive  it  being 
shown  in  the  illustration.  A  feature  of  this  loaded  nose 
is  the  wooden  holder  that  carries  the  lead  balls.  These 
are  composed  of  90  parts  lead  and  10  parts  antimony. 

The  space  for  the  powder  charge  in  the  base  of  the 
shell  is  varnished  on  all  surfaces  with  a  varnish  composed 
of  200  grams  of  gum  arabic  cut  in  one  liter  of  alcohol. 
This  coating  is  also  applied  to  the  lower  surfaces  of  the 
lower  steel  diaphragm.  This  diaphragm  is  seated  in  a 
packing  of  rubber  to  make  a  sealed  Joint. 

Another  point  of  difference  between  the  British  and 
French  construction  is  the  method  of  keying  the  copper 
band.  The  British  design  calls  for  cutting  a  series  of 
waves  or  drunken  threads,  around  which  the  dead  soft 
copper  band  is  swaged.  The  French  construction  merely 
cuts  a  series  of  V-grooves  into  which  the  band  is  com- 
pressed. 


[6] 


Fo: 


;imig  ttlhe  BMimRs  for  E8°ILIbo 


By  E.  A.  Suverkrop 


SYNOPSIS — In  the  shops  of  the  Montreal  Loco- 
motive Co.,  Montreal,  Canada,  3000  shell  blanks, 
10  in.  long,  3y2  in.  diameter  and  Y±  in.  thick  in 
the  wall,  are  being  made  every  24  hr.  The  blanks 
are  0.50  carbon  steel,  4%  in.  long  and  <$y2  in. 
diameter.  These  blocks  of  steel  are  heated  and, 
in  two  operations,  squirted  and  drawn,  with  an 
allowable  error  of  0.01  in.  on  the  surfaces  not  sub- 
sequently machined,  to  the  dimensions  given  above. 

The  hot  squirting  of  0.50  carbon  steel  cups  is  said  to 
have  originated  in  England,  but  as  far  as  Canada  is  con- 
cerned the  operation  was  first  performed  in  the  Govern- 
ment Arsenal  at  Quebec.    Since  the  beginning  of  the  war, 


patience  with  which  they  answered  my  questions  and  ex- 
plained everything  to  me. 

In  Fig.  1  are  shown  the  stages  of  evolution  from  the 
bar-stock  blank  to  the  forging  trimmed  to  length. 

Just  as  the  existing  lathes,  planers,  etc.,  in  the  machine 
shop  were  put  to  work  pending  the  arrival  of  more  suitable 
tools,  so  in  the  forge  shop  the  large  flanging  press  shown 
in  Fig.  2  and  the  heavy  bulldozer  shown  in  Fig.  8  were 
set  to  forging  the  shell  blanks  until  special  presses  could 
be  built  and  delivered.  These  special  presses  are  now  at 
work,  but  as  it  is  a  question  of  "deliver  the  goods,"  the 
flanging  press  and  the  bulldozer  are  still  on  the  job  day 
and  night,  for  in  the  ammunition  shops  24  hr.  is  a  day. 

The  steel  for  these  forgings  comes  in  ordinary  straight- 
ened commercial  bars  10  to  12  ft.  long.    The  specifications 


Fig.  1.    The  Stages  of  Evolution  from  the  Bar-Stock  Blank  to  the  Forging  Trimmed  to  Length 


however,  the  government  shops  have  been  open  to  inspec- 
tion and  every  assistance  has  been  given  the  representa- 
tives of  private  plants  which  have  undertaken  the 
manufacture  of  ammunition.  In  turn,  each  manufacturer 
has  added  his  little  to  the  fund  of  knowledge,  and  this 
has  cheerfully  been  handed  along  the  line. 

Before  going  further,  I  wish  to  thank  every  man  at  the 
shops  of  the  Montreal  Locomotive  Co.  for  the  courtesy  and 


call  for  0.45  to  0.55  carbon,  0.70  manganese  and  less 
than  0.04  sulphur  and  phosphorus. 

The  steel  mill  stamps  a  number  on  each  bar  of  a  ship- 
ment made  from  a  certain  "melt."  Test  pieces  from  each 
melt  are  first  analyzed  and  broken  by  the  Canadian  In- 
spection Co.  Having  passed  this  inspection,  three  bars 
are  selected  by  the  Montreal  Locomotive  Co.'s  chemist 
from  each  "melt,"  and  two  pieces  are  cut  from  each  of 


[7] 


these  bars.    Of  the  two  pieces  from  each  bar,  one  piece  is  The  cutting  of  the  bars  to  forging  length  is  the  first 

analyzed  and  the  other  is  made  into  a  shell,  going  through     operation.     Three  thousand  forgings  are  now  required 
all  the  operations  up  to  and  including  heat  treatment,     each  day,  and  every  machine  at  all  adaptable  to  this  work 


Fig.  2.     Large  Flanging  Press 


The  scleroscope  test  is  also  made,  which  helps  to  determine  has  been  requisitioned  for  cutting  bars  to  the  specified 
the  heat  treatment.  Test  pieces  are  then  cut  from  the  length  of  4%  in.  Four  methods  of  cutting  are  at  present 
shells,  and  the  tensile  strength  ascertained.  Having 
passed  the  tests,  the  rest  of  the  bars  in  the  melt  are  cut  to 


Cutting  Blanks  on  a  Newton  Cold-Saw 


Fig.  4.    Gorton  Cold-Saw 


the  standard  length  of  4%  in.  for  shell-forging  blanks,  employed,  as  shown  in  Figs.  3  to  6,  and  these  will  be 
the  blanks  from  each  melt  being  kept  together  throughout  augmented  soon  by  a  heavy  slab  miller  with  a  gang 
manufacture.  of  high-speed  saws.     Two  jigs  will  be  used,  each  hold- 

[8] 


ing  the  full  capacity  of  the  miller  table.     While  a  cut 
is  running,  the  operator  will  be  busy  unclamping  the 
severed  blanks  and  reloading  the  other  jig.    The  jigs  and 
work  will  be  handled  to  and  from  the  miller  by  a  hoist. 
Cold-Saw  Cutting 

In  Fig.  3  is  shown  a  large  Newton  cold-saw  cutting 
four  blanks  at  a  pass.  The  bars  A  are  held  between  the 
soft-wood  clamps  B,  which  are  shaped  to  bring  the  bars 
to  the  same  circle  as  the  saw,  thus  reducing  the  travel  and 
time  of  cutting  to  a  minimum.  Hardwood  was  tried  at 
first,  but  did  not  grip  the  bars  securely.  On  this  machine 
250  blanks  can  be  cut  in  10  hr.  The  clamps  to  the  ex- 
treme right  are  not  loosened  until  the  bars  are  too  short  to 
handle  in  the  saw,  thus  avoiding  a  lot  of  unnecessary 
adjusting  of  the  individual  bars. 

In  Fig.  4  is  shown  a  Gorton  saw  on  the  same  work. 
This  saw  has  a  capacity  of  190  blanks  in  10  hr.    The  stop 


IV 

1      4i^HI 

r^^      "mb 

n^^*— —  - 

H&ii 

|pr*  I 

m*  .^M 

K 

In  Fig.  6  is  shown  the  cutting  of  blanks  on  a  large 
planer.  The  bars  are  held  down  by  ordinary  strap  clamps 
and  spacers  are  placed  between  them.  Special  holding 
devices  for  tools  and  work  are  in  course  of  construction, 
whereby  the  output  by  this  method  will  be  from  400  to 
600  blanks  per  day.  Two  tools  are  used  in  each  head. 
The  outer  tools  on  each  side  are  about  %  in.  in  advance 
of  the  inner  tools  so  as  to  leave  enough  metal  to  resist  the 
bending  stresses.  With  all  these  methods  ordinary  cutting 
compound  is  used  as  a  lubricant. 

Eemoving  the  Burr 

A  burr  is  left  on  all  blanks  except  those  which  are  cut 
while  the  bar  rotates.  This  must  be  removed.  The  removal 
is  a  simple  job  with  a  pneumatic  chisel,  but  the  method 
of  holding  the  work  is  worth  showing.  The  machine  steel 
block  A,  Fig.  7,  secured  to  the  bench  is  about  3y2  in.  high, 
6  in.  wide  and  20  in.  long,  and  weighs  about  100  lb.  The 
blank  B  is  gripped  by  a  %-in.  setscrew  operated  by  a 


i 

-4 

Fig.  5.    Cutting  Blanks  on  Turret 


Fig.  7.    Behoving  Burrs 


Fig.  6.     Cutting  Blanks  on  the  Planer 


A  was  at  first  secured  to  a  bracket  attached  to  C.  When 
thus  attached,  its  position  with  regard  to  the  work  was 
stationary  and  trouble  was  encountered  with  the  nearly 
severed  blank  jamming  between  the  stop  and  the  saw  and 
breaking  out  the  teeth.  With  the  bracket  B  secured  as 
shown  to  the  saw  housing,  the  stop'4  is  in  contact  with 
the  end  of  the  bar  only  when  the  saw  is  out  of  contact 
with  the  work.  During  the  cut  it  is  entirely  out  of  con- 
tact, and  at  completion  of  the  cut  the  blank  is  free  to  drop 
clear  of  saw  and  stop. 

In  Fig.  5  is  shown  a  turret  lathe  used  for  cutting 
blanks.  On  the  machine  shown  265  blanks  can  be  cut  in 
10  hr. 


long  crank  handle  C.  The  inertia  of  this  heavy  block 
steadies  the  work  and  makes  cutting  an  easy  matter.  The 
crank  handle  is  quickly  operated.  One  operator  can  easily 
remove  the  burrs  from  all  the  blanks. 

Forging 

Forging  was  first  undertaken  in  the  heavy  flanging 
press,  Fig.  2,  the  bulldozer,  Fig.  8,  and  drop  presses,  not 
shown.  That  the  reader  may  appreciate  the  excellence 
of  this  work,  I  would  especially  call  his  attention  to  the 
dimensions  and  limits  on  Fig.  9  and  then  remind  him 
that  the  men  before  its  inception  were  forging  locomotive 
frames,  and  that  many  of  them  probably  never  heard  of 


m 


a  hundredth  of  an  inch.  Further,  the  metal  is  worked 
hot  and  shrinkage  must  be  allowed  for,  and  finally  both 
the  shop  and  the  government  inspectors  reject  any  work 
not  up  to  specifications. 

First  Forging  Operation 

The  cut-off  blanks  are  charged  into  ordinary  reverber- 
atory  furnaces,  of  which  there  are  two  for  each  press. 
The  furnaces  are  fired  with  oil  at  25- 
lb.  pressure  and  air  at  7  oz.  Each  press 
is  equipped  with  two  sets  of  punches 
and  dies,  as  shown  in  Fig.  10.  The 
punches  are  made  of  0.70  carbon  steel, 
finished  all  over  and  hardened  but  not 
•drawn.  The  dies  are  made  of  0.70  car- 
bon steel  or  chilled  iron.  It  has  been 
found  that  new  punches  and  dies  have 
a  tendency  to  stick  to  the  work  unless 
they  are  first  heated. 

The  work  of  adapting  the  large 
flanging  press  and  bulldozer  to  shell 
forging  was  taken  care  of  by  Eobert 
Allison,  works  engineer,  and  while 
these  two  machines  are  now  employed 
for  the  second  operation,  a  description 
of  the  fixtures  applied  to  them  will  not 
be  out  of  place.     In  Fig.  11  is  shown 


operation  is  in  progress.  At  F  are  the  guides  for  the 
punch  head;  at  H  are  the  seats  for  the  dies  for  both  first 
and  second  operations;  at  /  is  a  cored  opening  for  the 
removal  of  the  work  on  completion  of  the  second  opera- 
tion. 

When  the  blanks  have  attained  the  proper  temperature, 
a  press  feeder  at  each  furnace  removes  one  with  a  pair  of 
tongs  and,  swinging  it  over  his  head,  brings  it  down  end- 


Haterial-iteel  Carbon  70/o  or  over 


4  Threads 
per  inch 


L< 


,-IDiam: 

ilDiam  _ 
ft — 3%Diam.-*-\ 


UflM 
Wv  — L- 


Die  for  l£  Operation 
on  Drop- Hammer 


Dies  for  Z"-  Operation 
on  Drop-Hammer 


Punch  and  Die  for 
Piercing  Operation 

Fig.  10.    Punches  and  Dies  for  First  Forging 
Operation  on  Presses  and  Drop  Hammers 


Fig.  8.     Forging  Shell  Blanks  on  a  Bulldozer 


the  fixture  for  the  flanging  press.  With  the  exception  of 
the  punches  and  dies,  which  are  for  the  second,  or  draw- 
ing, operation  on  the  shell  blanks,  the  fixture  is  the 
same  as  used  for  the  first  operation.  The  same  reference 
letters  will  be  used  in  Figs.  2  and  11. 

The  flanging  press  is  155  tons  capacity  with  a  stroke 
■of  30  in.  It  was  found  that  to  assure  proper  stripping  a 
pull-back  of  25  tons  per  forging  is  necessary.  For  that 
reason  the  pull-back  on  the  press  was  increased  to  55  tons. 

Equipment  for  Flanging  Press 

The  flange  O  is  bolted  to  the  upper  platen.  The  dis- 
tance-piece D  connects  with  the  original  ram  to  bring  the 
tools  to  handy  working  height.  The  two  punches  B  are 
secured  in  the  head  as  shown.  A  swinging  stop  operated 
by  the  handle  C  is  disposed  on  each  side  of  the  press. 
In  the  plan  view  to  the  right  the  stop  E  is  shown  swung 
out  of  the  way,  while  to  the  left  it  is  in  operating  posi- 
tion.    The  swinging  stop  is  used  only  when  the  second 


on  against  an  iron  block  to  jar  off  as  much  of  the  scale 
as  possible.  Two  men  with  the  scrapers  A,  Fig.  12,  and 
brooms  then  rapidly  remove  the  rest  of  the  scale  and  the 
feeders  place  the  blanks  in  the  dies.  They  then  drop  their 
tongs  and  take  the  guide  B,  Fig.  12,  and  lay  it  on  top  of 
the  hot  blank.  The  3%-in.  recess  is  downward,  surround- 
ing the  hot  blank  and  centering  it.  The  punch  then 
descends,  enters  the  3g^-in.  opening  on  top,  centers  the 
guide  and  work  with  relation  to  itself  and,  passing  on 
down,  causes  the  hot  metal  to  squirt  upward  around  the 
punch.  The  press  is  then  reversed  and  the  punch  ascends, 
bringing  with  it  the  forging,  which  is  now  about  7V<>  in. 
long.  Occasionally  a  forging  will  seize ;  then  the  punch  is 
unscrewed  and  a  new  one  inserted,  which  takes  but  a  few 
minutes.  When  things  are  running  right,  the  press  will 
turn  out  1000  first-operation  cups  in  10  hr.  At  C  in  Fig. 
12  is  shown  the  blowpipe  for  removing  scale  from  the 
dies  in  the  first  operation  and  at  D  the  one  for  removing 
scale  from  the  dies  in  the  second  operation.  At  E  is  shown 


[10] 


the  spray  for  cooling  the  punches  in  the  second  operation 
when  they  get  too  hot.  The  length  of  service  of  a  punch 
or  die  depends  upon  may  variables;  it  is,  however,  not 
uncommon  for  a  die  to  last  24  hr. 

As  the  requirements  for  the  insides  of  the  shells  are 
more  exacting,  there  being  no  machining  inside  except  at 


u  9M,H 


0375%  H 


2.89  H 
"e.88'l 

Fig.  9.    Shell  Shrapnel 

(Dimensions  in  Inches) 

(1)  Dimensions  "A,"  "B"  and  "C"  are  the  finished  internal 
sizes  of  shell.  (2)  At  "D"  this  dimension  allows  material  for 
machining  equal  to  0.05  in.  per  side.  (3)  The  material  on 
inside  wall  allowed  for  machining  from  "C"  to  "D"  tapers 
from  0.0  to  0.05  in.  per  side.  (4)  At  the  shoulder  "E"  on  which 
disk  rests  material  0.1  in.  is  allowed  for  machining.  (5)  At 
"F"  material  is  allowed  for  machining  equal  to  0.05  in.  per 
side.  (6)  At  "G"  material  is  allowed  for  machining  equal  to 
0.05  in.  Care  must  be  taken  to  remove  all  scale  from  this 
part.  (7)  Face  "H"  to  be  machined  by  forging  manufacturers. 
(8)  Projection  "J"  to  be  left  as  shown  on  base  unless  other- 
wise specified  when  forgings  are  ordered.  (9)  Face  "K"  to  be 
machined  by  forging  manufacturers  to  dimensions  given.  (10) 
Dimension  "L"  allows  for  machining,. but  this  should  not  ex- 
ceed 3.55  or  3.50  in.  (11)  Inside  finish  of  forgings  from  mouth 
of  shell  at  face  "K"  to  dimension  "C"  to  be  smooth  and  free 
from  scale,  projections,  irregularities  and  other  blemishes. 
The  body  must  also  be  straight. 

the  bottom,  the  punches  under  normal  conditions  require 
to  be  replaced  more  often  than  the  dies,  averaging  4  to  5 
per  day. 

The  gage  H,  Fig.  12,  is  used  in  inspecting  the  finished 
forging.  The  short  leg  goes  on  the  inside  of  the  shell, 
the  difference  between  the  length  of  the  legs  indicating 
the  proper  base  thickness. 


Fig.  11.    Equipment  Shown  for  Second  or 
Drawing  Operation 


F  BASE  FORMING  TOOL 
(SECOND  OPERATION) 


0.  SWABBER  FOR  GRAPHITE 
AND  OIL 


Fig.  12.    Accessories  in  Connection  with  Hydraulic  Forging  Press 


[11] 


Imi! 


lamiRs  for 


By  E.  A.  Suverkrop 


SYNOPSIS — In  this  second  installment  of  the 
first  authentic  article  from  the  field  covering  shell 
forging,  a  number  of  practical  hints  are  included 
in  connection  with  both  the  forging  and  drawing 
operations.  Details  of  the  automatic  base-forming 
stops  and  strippers  are  also  given  and  the  heat- 
treating  methods  are  described. 

The  special  R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.  press,  shown  at  the  left 
in  Pig.  13,  is  used  for  the  first  operation,  and  the  special 
fixtures  designed  by  Mr.  Allison  to  secure  accuracy  and 
high  production  are  illustrated  in  detail  in  Fig.  14.  Ow- 
ing to  poor  lighting  conditions,  it  was  impossible,  even 


the  frame  is  in  this  position  the  bottom  of  the  knock-out 
D  enters  a  hole  in  the  frame  member  under  it  and  the 
top  of  D  comes  flush  with  the  bottom  of  the  die.  When 
the  punch  A  descends,  the  frame  also  descends.  As  soon 
as  it  clears  the  end  of  the  knock-out  D,  the  frame  E 
swings  by  gravity  to  such  position  that  when  the  punch 
and  frame  again  ascend,  the  bottom  of  the  knock-out 
D  is  struck  and  the  work  is  ejected  from  the  die  C. 
After  removal  of  the  work,  the  operator  pushes  the  frame 
with  his  foot  in  the  direction  of  the  arrow  until  the  stop 
H  strikes  the  frame  of  the  press,  when  the  knock-out  D 
again  drops  into  the  pocket  in  the  frame  E  and  the  die  C 
is  ready  to  receive  another  blank. 

In  construction,  the  two  stops  I  are  simple  and  effi- 


i 

1 1 

S  jgjg 

1 
(  1 

op  ^              , 
■  i   * 

1 

v 

i       1 

1 

111  .■ 

/                     1      I  V  1 

i  I  ^      \ 

1        1 

Pw 

VwCs  i 

I  *m    .  -fr*"       *" *"*                                                         — jH 

^ 

■        I 

Fig.  13.    E.  D.  Wood  &  Co.  Press  to  Left  and  Niles  Press  to  Right 


with  a  flashlight,  to  get  a  good  photograph  of  the  special 
presses. 

Special  Fixtures  for  First  Forging  Operation 
Referring  to  Fig.  14,  the  punches  are  shown  at  A.  The 
plates  B  (in  connection  with  the  guide  and  stripping  tool 
B,  Fig.  11)  strip  the  finished  work  from  the  punch.  The 
dies,  Fig.  9,  are  seated  at  C.  The  knock-out  D  is  operated 
by  the  frame  E  hung  from  the  ram  by  chains  in  the  eye- 
bolts;  these  chains  are  visible  in  Fig.  13.  The  knock-out 
D  is  simply  a  rivet  which  is  actuated  by  the  frame  E. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  chains  G  are  at  an  angle.    When 


cient.  Under  the  repeated  pounding,  the  punches  and 
stops  are  bound  to  upset  slightly  so  that  adjustments  of 
stroke  must  be  made  from  time  to  time.  Adjustment  is 
secured  in  the  following  simple  manner :  On  top  of  each, 
of  the  posts  /  are  two  inverted  cups  J  with  sheet-steel 
shims,  one  or  more  of  which  can  be  removed  or  inserted 
to  readjust  the  length  of  stroke. 

Second  Forging  Operation 
The  bulldozer  has  been  and  is  still  chiefly  used  for 
second-operation  work,  and  as  the  method  employed  is 
older,  it  will  be  given  before  going  into  the  present  method 


[12] 


on  the  special  press  now  in  operation  and  shown  to  the 
right  in  Pig.  13. 

By  referring  to  Figs.  8  and  15,  it  will  be  noted  that 
there  is  accommodation  in  the  fixture  for  the  three  punches 
and  dies  shown  in  detail  in  Fig.  16. 

In  this  tool  the  work  goes  through  one  die  at  a  time, 
passing  in  all  through  three  dies  mounted  in  the  con- 
secutive seats  B  in  the  fixture  A,  Figs.  8  and  15.  The 
bottom  of  the  shell  is  formed  at  the  end  of  the  stroke  be- 
tween the  punch  end  and  a  bottoming  die  located  at  C. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  punches  have  a  head  instead  of  a 
thread  to  hold  them  in.  A  %-in.  setscrew  D  on  top  pre- 
vents the  dies  falling  out.  The  cups  from  the  first  op- 
eration being  hot,  the  operator  takes  them  one  at  a  time 


FINISH  ALL  OVER 


'TT'TI f*~ 

'  O  I  ■  I  <V 


Diam 


* 


Diam. 


■H 


k 


OIF  BLOCK 


ft 

1              1 

/ 

*:      i 

w 

A 

\ 

1 * ' 

Fixed  Position 
of  Press 

Si 


Brass  Washer  placed  between 
Setscrew  and  Punch  Threads 


I. 


Fig.  14.     S  hell-Piercing  Details 

and  holds  them  with  the  base  toward  the  die.  The  bull- 
dozer is  tripped  and  the  advancing  punch  enters  the  hole 
in  the  work,  pushing  it  through  the  die  and  against  the 
bottoming  die  G.  By  this  time  the  operator  standing 
on  top  of  the  fixture  A  has  had  time  to  replace  his  tongs 
with  a  hand  stripper  which  is  merely  a  crotch  of  steel 
with  a  long  handle,  shown  at  E,  Fig.  15.  The  crotch 
is  placed  over  the  punch  between  the  work  and  the  front 
flange  F  of  the  fixture,  and  on  the  return  of  the  punch, 
the  work  is  stripped,  dropping  to  the  bottom  of  the  cav- 
ity 0,  from  which  it  is  removed  with  tongs. 

Second-Operation  Forging  on  Special  Press 

The  second,  or  drawing,  operation  on  the  special  press 
shown  to  the  right  in  Fig.  13  is  entirely  different  from 


that  done  on  the  bulldozer.  There  the  work  passes  through 
three  separate  operations  in  three  dies  held  in  three  differ- 
ent holders;  here  the  work  passes  at  a  single  stroke 
through  three  dies  placed  in  sequence  in  the  same  holder. 
In  the  bulldozer  the  bottom  is  formed  inside  and  the  base 


W  OPERATION  ON  BULLDOZER 


CASTIRON 
CHILLED 


K---3.T50Diam. ->' 

ZV  OPERATION  ON  BULLDOZER 


CASTIRON 
CHILLED 


3*-° operation  on  bulldozer 
Fig.  16.    Shell-Drawing  Dies 

of  the  forging  brought  to  the  desired  thickness  at  the 
completion  of  the  stroke.  In  the  special  press  it  imme- 
diately precedes  drawing,  although  it  does  not  consist  of 
a  separate  operation. 

The  drawing  punch  and  dies  are  shown  in  Fig.  17. 
The  arrangement  of  the  three  dies,  one  above  the  other, 
the  largest  at  the  top  and  the  smallest  at  the  bottom,  is 
shown  in  the  elevation  at  H  in  Fig.  11  and  T  in  Fig.  18. 

The  Drawing  Operation 
The  cups  from  the  first  operation  being  hot,  the  press- 
man at  each  side  of  the  press  removes  one  from  the  fur- 
nace.   On  each  side  is  a  jet  of  water,  vertically  disposed. 


8'Diarn. ■>! 


I'J  OPERATION  ON  ELAN6E  PRESS 


1IHEH  CASTIRON, 

CHILLED 

WHEN  STEEL  .70%' 

ca-so:  c?m° 


^■■36iS  Oam—->l 
ZIP  OPERATION  ON  FLAN6E  PRESS 


USSfd  Thread. 

4  Threads  per  Inch  PUNCH  r0R  DRAmN6  OPERATION 


ItHEII  CAST  IRON, 
CHILLED 


YtHEN  STEEL  10% 
CARS0.1  OR  OVER 


VilS9S  Diam: >) 

IV  OPERATION  OH  FLAN6E  P/tESS 

Fig.  17.     Drawing  Punches  and  Dies 

The  cup  is  inverted  over  the  jet  for  an  instant  which 
causes  the  scale  on  the  inside  to  loosen.  Striking  the  in- 
verted cup  a  sharp  blow  on  an  iron  block  shakes  the  scale 
out.  Both  inside  and  outside  is  then  scraped  and  brushed 
to  remove  as  far  as  possible  the  scale.  A  man  on  each  side 
of  the  press  then  takes  a  base-forming  tool,  shown  at  F 
in  Fig.  12,  and  lays  the  die  end  of  the  tool  in  the  top  of 
the  die  in  the  press.     The  hot  forgings  are  then  placed 


[13] 


base  down  in  the  recess  in  the  top  of  the  base-forming 
tool,  and  the  press  tripped. 

On  this  press  two  stops  are  provided,  one  for  forming 
the  base  to  thickness  and  the  other  at  the  extreme  stroke 
of  the  ram  after  drawing  has  been  completed.  The  first 
stop  is  adjustable,  and  after  being  used  must  be  swung 
out  of  the  way  before  the  punch  can  descend  and  draw 
the  shell. 

The  handling  of  stops  in  the  large  flanging  machine, 
Fig.  2,  is  by  hand,  as  shown  in  Fig.  11.  Stripping  also  is 
by  hand,  the  same  as  described  for  the  bulldozer  operation. 
There  are  many  objections  to  hand  operation  of  stops  and 
strippers.  There  is  too  much  chance  of  the  human  equa- 
tion getting  out  of  balance  and  too  much  expenditure  of 
energy.  With  hand  stripping  there  is  always  a  possibility 
of  spoiling  the  work  or  bending  the  punches  by  getting 
the  stripper  cocked  on  the  edge  of  an  unequally  drawn 
shell.  To  overcome  these  difficulties  Mr.  Allison  designed 
a  system  of  air-operated  stops  and  strippers  which  en- 
tirely obviate  any  chance  of  something  being  forgotten 
and  consequent  disaster. 

The  device  is  shown  in  Fig.  18  and  is  applied  to  the 
large  Niles  press  shown  to  the  right  in  Fig.  13. 

Before  describing  the  automatic-stripping  mechanism, 


shown  at  E,  Fig.  15,  and  placed  the  crotch  over  the  punch 
between  the  drawn  shell  (which  clings  to  the  punch)  and 
the  base  of  the  die  seat.  On  reversal  of  the  ram  the  forged 
shell  is  stripped  from  the  punch  and  falls  to  the  ground 
below  the  die,  whence  it  is  removed  to  a  large  three-sided 
iron  bin,  shown  at  A,  Fig.  13. 

When  things  are  going  right,  the  press  on  second-op- 
eration work  turns  out  about  70  finished  forgings  an  hour. 
The  work  is  not  only  heavy,  but  must  be  rapidly  performed 
and,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  furnaces,  the  tempera- 
ture is  high. 

Automatic  Base-Forming  Stops  and  Strippers 

Referring  to  Fig.  18,  the  stops  A  for  the  base-forming 
operation  are  secured  to  the  plunger  plate  of  the  press, 
one  at  the  front  and  one  at  the  back.  The  lower  member 
B  of  the  stop,  when  in  operating  position,  covers  a  cored 
hole  S  in  the  main  ,  u.ef.jj 

frame,  which  is  large  -j:i         1 

enough  to  permit 
the  stops  A  to  pass 
downward  when  the 
members  B  are 
drawn    out    of    the 


J 


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■iOS> 

o! 


fe«fe 


3? 

089' 


£ 


'W- 


■107*- 


fete 


PLUNGER  EOR 
FINISHING 
OPERATION 


^m&-089 

PLUNGER  EOR 
IV AND  if"  OPERATIONS 


STRIPPER 


l<"~»- 


Uf.....7-..>J 


-3        I      '.  'I*     I  V.  /      I 

J_J 


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]^i7S0^\  4."J\^3.90lf-<-1 


DRAWING  DIES  EOR  IV-l"  AND  J*»  OPERATIONS 


f. 


>3.7S0 


BOTTOMING  DIES  EOR 
IU-Z&AND  i'-"  OPERATIONS 


Fig.  15.    Bulldozer  Equipment  for  Forging  Shells 


an  outline  of  the  drawing  operation  as  performed  with- 
out it  will  give  the  reader  a  clearer  conception  of  the  duties 
performed  by  it  and  enable  him  to  appreciate  its  simplic- 
ity and  effectiveness. 

When  the  first  stop  is  reached,  the  punches  have  formed 
the  inside  of  the  shell  bases  and  brought  the  bases  to  the 
desired  thickness.  The  man  in  control  of  the  hydraulic 
operating  valve  raises  the  punches  so  that  the  base-form- 
ing die  can  be  removed.  In  the  meantime,  the  first  stops 
on  each  side  of  the  press  base  have  been  thrown  clear 
of  the  stops  on  the  ram.  The  ram  is  again  caused  to 
descend  and  the  punches  push  the  shells  down  through 
the  three  dies,  drawing  them  from  7^2  to  10  in.  in  length. 
The  pressman  at  each  die  has  in  the  meantime  taken 
a  stripper  similar  to  the  one  used  in  the  bulldozer  and 


way.  The  members  B  are  in  slides  and  actuated  by 
connecting-rods  from  the  bell  cranks  C.  The  stop  A 
seats  in  a  cup  in  B,  in  the  bottom  of  which  are  a 
number  of  disk-shaped  shims.  A  slot  D,  which  runs 
through  the  cup,  serves  a  double  purpose,  facilitating 
both  the  removal  of  shims  and  the  egress  of  water,  which 
is  apt  to  fall  into  the  upturned  mouth  of  the  cup  when 
the  punches  are  being  cooled  with  the  spraying  tool  shown 
at  E,  Fig.  12.  Before  this  slot  was  made  the  water  caused 
the  men  much  annoyance  through  squirting  in  their  eyes. 
The  bell  cranks  C  are  operated  by  the  air  cylinder  E. 
The  two  strippers  F  are  actuated  by  the  bar  G,  which 
has  a  yoke,  or  opening,  H  of  sufficient  size  to  permit  the 
removal  of  the  stripper  for  repairs  or  replacement  or  the 
use  of  a  hand-stripper,  should  that  be  for  any  reason 


[14] 


necessary.  One  end  of  the  bar  G  is  pivoted  through  a 
link  to  the  main  body;  the  other  end  is  connected  to  the 
yoke-end  /  on  the  piston  rod  of  the  air  cylinder  J,  shown 
in  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of  the  detail.  This  cyl- 
inder receives  air  at  one  end  only  and  the  piston  is  re- 
turned by  the  coiled  spring  K,  also  shown. 

At  L  is  an  air  valve  which  is  normally  kept  closed  by 
a  heavy  compression  spring  M.  The  spindle  of  this  valve 
is  embraced  by  a  yoke,  the  upper  end  of  which  finishes  in  a 
pin  N  which  is  in  line  with  a  trip  plunger,  mounted  on  the 
plunger  plate  of  the  press,  which  depresses  N  just  as  the 
plunger  completes  its  downward  stroke.  This  permits  the 
air  under  pressure  in  the  pipe  0  to  pass  through  the  pipes 
as  shown  by  the  arrows,  actuating  both  pistons  in  the  air 
cylinders  J  and  filling  the  reservoir  P  (the  duty  of  which 
will  be  explained  later).  The  piston  in  the  air  cylinders  J 
forces  the  strippers  F  into  contact  with  the  punches,  and 
as  the  press  ram  ascends,  the  finished  forgings  fall  to  the 
bottoms  of  the  cored  openings  Q  in  the  base. 

In  the  pipe  system  is  an  adjustable  needle  valve  R,  which 
permits  the  air  to  leak  gradually  from  the  pipe  system,  the 
air  cylinders  J  and  the  air  reservoir  P,  when  the  valve  L 
is  in  normal,  or  closed,  position.  By  regulating  the  leak- 
age through  the  needle  valve  R,  the  device  can  be  so  timed 


descends  until  the  stop  A  brings  up  against  the  lower 
member  B.  The  ram  is  raised  to  remove  the  base-forming 
die  and  the  operator  opens  the  air-control  valve.  The 
air  entering  the  cylinder  E  throws  both  lower  members 
B  back,  so  that  the  stops  A  are  free  to  enter  the  cored 


Heat  Treating 
Furnace 


Bench  with 
Scleroscope  attached- 


Track 


Fig.  20.     Heat-Treating  Arrangement 

holes  S.  The  ram,  being  reversed,  comes  on  down  forc- 
ing the  forging  through  the  triple  dies  T.  Near  the 
bottom  of  its  stroke  the  stripper  trip  on  the  plunger  plate 
strikes  the  plug  N,  allowing  the  air  to  enter  the  stripping 
system  and  to  actuate  the  stripping  operation  as  de- 
scribed.   While  still  hot  and  before  being  thrown  into  the 


! 

o      o      o 

Vj 

■Opr*- — -IO'—-^*}f 

Y 

O         O         O 

Fig.  18.    Equipment  for  Shell-Drawing  with  Automatic  Strippers  and  Base-Forming  Stops 

that,  shortly  after  the  finished  forgings  are  stripped  from  bin  A,  Fig.  13,  the  forgings  are  gaged  with  the  forked 

the  punches,  the  pressure  in  the  pipe  system  and  reservoir  gage  shown  at  H,  Fig.  12. 

will  have  fallen  so  low  that  the  pull-back  springs  K  in  the  Forging  Hints 

air  cylinders  act,  and  the  strippers  are  drawn  back  where         It  ig  most  j  tive  to  remove  ag  much  of  the  gcale 

Icendi^    w°nrk  ^  h°m  ^  W°rk  aS  P°SSible'  aS  tMs  is  lkble  to  CaUSe  a  ^eat 

°  '  deal  of  trouble  cutting  the  dies  and  making  cavities  in  the 

Action  of  the  Automatic  Device  work.    Proper  lubrication  of  both  punches  and  dies  has 

Briefly,  then,  the  action  of  the  device  is  as  follows :  been  a  source  of  considerable  thought.    When  the  job  first 

The  work  is  placed  in  the  base-forming  die  and  the  ram  came  up,  the  old  blacksmiths'  trick  of  putting  a  pinch  of 

[15] 


soft  coal  in  ahead  of  the  punch  was  tried,  but  discontinued. 
While  hot,  the  hole  would  look  good  and  clean,  but  when 
being  machined,  pockets  of  scale  and  slag  would  break 
out  and  the  work  would  not  pass  inspection. 

At  present  graphite  and  water  applied  with  the  swabber 
shown  at  G,  Fig.  12,  are  used  on  the  punches.  For  the 
dies,  graphite  and  oil  are  applied  with 
a  similar  tool.  But  there  is  still  much 
to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  a  good 
lubricant. 

Correct  temperatures  are  of  great 
importance.  For  the  first  forging 
operation,  the  work  should  be  as  near 
2000  deg.  F.  as  practicable;  for  the 
second  operation,  the  work  should  be 
at  a  temperature  of  1800  deg.  F. 

Speeds  are  also  of  considerable  im- 
portance. On  the  first  operation,  a 
speed  of  30  ft.  per  min.  is  permissible 
and  satisfactory;  on  the  second  opera- 
tion, a  speed  of  22  ft.  per  min.  is 
all  that  the  work  can  safely  stand,  an 
increase  over  this  of  only  2  ft.  per  min. 
being  liable  to  cause  trouble.  A  decrease  of  speed  by 
the  same  amount  also  gives  unsatisfactory  results. 

Examples  of  two  of  the  most  common  forms  of  spoiled 
work  from  the  drawing  dies  are  shown  in  Fig.  19.  The 
one  to  the  left  was  probably  too  thick  on  the  end  and 
bulged  out  around  the  base-forming  die  so  that  it  would 
not  pass  through  the  drawing  dies.  It  may  also  have  been 
either  too  cold  all  over  or  locally,  or  there  may  have 
been  hard  spots  in  it,  as  indicated  at  A.  The  one  to  the 
right,  which  pulled  in  two,  has  evidently  crowded  over  to 
one  side  of  the  die,  as  indicated  by  the  ridge  at  B.  In 
spite  of  all  the  difficulties,  from  70  to  90  per  cent,  of  the 
forgings  pass  inspection. 

Heat  Treatment 
After  the  forgings  are  machined,  up  to  the  comple- 
tion  of   operation    10,   as   shown   in   "Making   the    18- 


one  at  a  time  and  quenched  in  whale  oil  in  the  tank  B, 
provided  with  a  screen  bottom  which  can  be  raised  by  the 
air  hoist  C,  as  shown  in  Fig.  20.  After  the  bulk  of  the 
oil  has  drained  from  the  shells,  they  are  placed  on  the 
angular  draining  surface  D.  After  the  first  treatment, 
the  shells,  if  too  hard,  are  reheated  and  drawn  at  a  tem- 


Fig.  19.     Examples  of  Spoiled  Forgings 


perature  varying  from  700  to  900  deg.  F.,  depending  on 
the  steel,  to  give  the  required  scleroscope  hardness  of  38 
to  42.  As  previously  stated,  the  heat  treatment  is  deter- 
mined by  Mr.  Hendy,  the  chemist,  from  the  coupons 
taken  from  each  melt.  Of  three  lots  passed  through  in  5 
days,  3000  required  no  second  treatment,  while  the  re- 
maining 12,000  had  to  be  drawn. 

After  heat  treatment  the  shells  are  washed  in  soda  water 
in  the  vat  E  and  are  as  described  in  operation  11  of 


Fig.  21.     Heat-Treating  Department 


Lb.  British  Shrapnel,"  page  493.  They  then  go  to 
the  heat-treating  department,  shown  in  Figs.  20  and 
21.  The  shells  are  placed  30  at  a  time  in  reverbera- 
tory  furnaces  A.  It  takes  about  30  min.  to  bring  them 
to  a  temperature  of  1500  deg.  F.     They  are  then  taken 


Mr.  Van  Deventer's  article,  already  referred  to.  It  has, 
however,  been  found  that  bending  of  the  metal  in  this 
operation  at  the  low  temperature  attained  by  the  metal 
at  the  point  where  the  curved  nose  strikes  the  cylindrical 
body  is  apt  to  make  it  brittle ;  so,  after  nosing,  the  shells 


[16] 


•are  returned  to  the  lead  pot,  shown  in  Figs.  22  and  23 
to  bring  the  metal  at  this  point  to  a  low  red  heat  and  pre- 
vent shortness. 
The  pins  A  are  of  such  length  that  when  the  shells 


Pig.  22.    Lead  Pot 

are  inverted  over  them  the  open  ends  reach  down  the 
required  distance  into  the  lead. 

The  nosing  die  is  shown  in  Fig.  24,  at  A,  and  at  B  is 


thick  part  below  the  line  AB  of  the  test  piece.  This,  of 
course,  is  because  the  heat  treatment  affects  the  thin  sec- 
tion more  readily,  and  because  in  this  as  in  all  other  work 
the  thickness  of  the  work,  as  well  as  the  hardness,  influ- 


r« ^V 


i   r — 24"- — *l    I    r*^">J 






— 

} 

iCP.'0 

O 

o 

s. 

'*  (cast  iron) 


3W*H£ 


FURNACE 

Fig.  23.     Lead  Pot  and  Furnace 


ences  the  rebound  of  the  indicating  member  of  the  sclero- 
scope. 

The  scleroscope  is  mounted  on  a  base  and  perpendicular 
to  the  center  of  a  V  for  the  reception  of  the  shell.  At 
the  back  of  the  V  is  a  stop  to  locate  the  shell,  so  that  the 
testing  point  is  always  a  given  distance  from  the  base  of 


feTT"-^: 


C.L.of 
Radius 


finish  all  over 
(steel) 


Fig.  24.     Nosing  Dies 

the  bolster  to  locate  the  base  of  the  shell  in  line  with  the 
die.  Formerly,  for  every  120  shells  nosed,  there  was  a  wast- 
age of  100  lb.  of  lead  due  to  evaporation.  The  present 
chemist  suggested  covering  the  surface  with  broken  char' 
coal,  and  now  the  wastage  is  about  20  lb.  for  500  shells, 
and  the  bulk  of  this  is  what  sticks  to  the  work.  In  all 
lead-pot  heating,  the  protection  of  the  surface  with  char- 
coal is  advisable,  as  unprotected  lead  hardens  and  depre- 
ciates rapidly. 

If  the  thin  part  of  the  shell,  that  is,  above  the  line  AB 
in  Fig.  25,  shows  a  scleroscope  hardness  according  to  spe- 
cification, the  test  piece  will  invariably  pull  apart  in  the 


Fig.  25.    Location  of  Physical  Test  Pieces 

the  shell.     This  testing  point  is  slightly  below  the  line 
AB,  Fig.  25. 


[17] 


Manufacturing'  SIhumpmi< 


omi 


By  J.  P.  Brophy* 


SYNOPSIS — This  article  describes  in  detail  the 
'  operations  for  producing  shrapnel  cases,  heads,  fuse 
bodies  and  fuse  caps  on  automatic  turret  lathes. 
The  rate  of  production  is  given  for  each  part,  and 
photographs  and  drawings  of  the  tools  are  repro- 
duced. 

The  most  important  parts  of  a  shrapnel  in  time  of 
war  are  those  that  take  the  longest  to  produce.  This 
fact  was  very  strongly  emphasized  during  the  first  few 
months  of  the  present  war.     In  France  the  government 


•Vice-president  and  general  manager,  Cleveland  Automatic 
Machine  Co. 


Fig.  1.  A  Shrapnel  Case 

Produced  from  the 

Bar 


Fig.  2.  A  Shrapnel  Case 

Produced  from  a 

Forging 


made  a  search  for  all  lathes  which  were  available  for 
this  kind  of  work,  concentrated  them  in  various  centers 
and  began  to  produce  shrapnel  shells  as  fast  as  possible. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  other  governments  are  taking 
similar  steps  to  keep  from  running  out  of  this  important 
form  of  ammunition,  and,  in  fact,  we  have  felt  the  de- 
mand somewhat  in  our  own  country. 

From  this  point  of  view,  the  most  important  parts  of 
a  shrapnel  are  the  case,  head,  fuse  body  and  fuse  cap, 
and  to  meet  the  demand  for  information  on  this  subject, 
I  will  describe  the  production  of  these  parts  on  Cleveland 
automatic  turret  lathes,  which  are  used  quite  extensively 
for  this  purpose  in  the  arsenals  of  the  United  States. 

The  Shrapnel  Case 

The  case  is  the  most  important  part  of  all,  and  requires 
the  most  time  to  produce.  It  is  made  either  from  steel 
forgings  or  from  the  bar ;  in  the  first  instance  two  check- 
ings are  required,  and  in  the  latter  only  one. 

Fig.  1  shows  the  appearance  of  shrapnel  cases  pro- 
duced from  bar  stock,  and  Fig.  2  that  of  cases  made  from 
forgings.  Both  are  shown  as  they  come  from  the  ma- 
chine. 


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Fig.  3.    First  Operation  in  Making  3-In.  Shrapnel  Cases  from  Bar  Stock 

[18] 


(Bar  Fete/) 


a}|1l::::mC 


W    TURRET    HOLE 


81 


..Cross  Slide  Too/ss  Q 
*  \ 

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-' tniiiniiimiin 


m 


B0    2>C® 


A 


2N-°  TURRET   HOLE 
(Rough  Hole,  turn  outside  diameter  and  groove) 


"."■'.•■; 


;/,  // ;','//, ■  ■  ct 


'y.'/7//>>>  >.   .>>>>>T77T> 


1> 


HOT 


0 


31°  TURRET    HOLE 
(finish  powder  poc/ret  and  counterbore  for  tap) 


■y//.w/,w/,:?i 


TTTTTZ-rTrrr^. 


/■/.  -y  .■■.-..->  ^ 


-E 


ffi 


"\E 


O 


4T-«    TURRET    HOLE  LTJ 

(Finish  diaphragm  Seat  and  chamfer  end) 


M 

mm 


N     3 


-a   - 


5™  TURRET  HOLE 
(Tap) 


~  ' — 


wJwtf,!ffi 


B  w  ii         ii  a 


6T-M    JURRET     HOLE 
(Ream) 


(Knurl and  cut  off) 
(TIME'25%jMIN.) 
FIG. 5  -  MACHINING  A  3-ih. SHRAPNEL  CASE  FROM  BAR  STOCK 


I V  TURRET  HOLE.  C0NVEYQR.(N0T SHOW) 


2*  TURRET  HOLE  ' 

(Roughturn  Outside  Diameter) 

Sfeadyrest~--L 


3 


-ri/>m/iiii/»M. 


3  R-B  TURRET  HOLE 

AND  CROSS  SLIDES 

(face  solid  end,  form  band 


4T-* 


and  crimping  grooves) 


I  Steady  rest 


TURRET  HOLE 


5T-M  TURRET  HOLE 
(Conveyor  to  remove  case  fivm  arbonnot shorn) 

FIRST  CHUCKING 
(TIME  93/4 MIN.) 

|SJ  TURRET  HOLE.  CONVEYOR. 

(NOT  SHOWN) 


21° TURRET  HOLE 


(Rough  diaphragm  seat,  hole 
fvrthread ,  face  to  lengfh) 


31°TURRET   HOLE 


(Finish  diaphragm  seat,  hole  for 
thread,chamter  corners.  Cross 
slide  tool  finishes  facing  end) 

(Tap  for 
rThread) 


'~~  ^s^MW."% 


4T-N  TURRET  HOLE 


5™  TURRET  HOLE 
(Remove  from  chuck;  not  shown) 

2N-DCHUCK1NG   (TIME  3'VmiN.) 
FIG.6  -MACHININS  A  3-jn.  FORGED SHRAPNEL  CASE 


Machining  Shrapnel  Cases  on  Automatic  Tureet  Lathes 

ri9i 


;  The"  process  of  machining  3-in.  cases  from  the  bar  is 
clearly  shown  in  Fig.  5.  The  tool  set-up  is  illustrated  in 
Figs.  3  and  4.  The  tools  in  these  illustrations  are  lettered 
similarly  to  those  in  the  machining  diagram,  Fig.  5,  as 
a  convenience  in  following  the  operations. 

The  tooling  arrangement  and  operations  for  producing 
3-ih.  common  shrapnel  cases  from  forgings  are  shown  in 
Fig.  6.  The  machine  upon  which  this  work  is  done  is 
a  4:Y2  model  A  Cleveland  automatic  equipped  with  a 
rotary  tilting  magazine  and  an  air-expanding  arbor  to  grip 
the  forgings  on  the  inside  for  the  first  chucking.  This 
arbor  is  arranged  with  two  sets  of  jaws,  of  three  jaws 
each,  gripping  on  either  end  of  the  case,  and  are  con- 
trolled by  a  double-acting  taper  shaft  working  directly 
on  the  jaws.  The  end  of  the  arbor  also  serves  as  a  gage 
stop,  as  it  seats  on  the  bottom  of  the  powder  pocket. 

After  the  first  chucking,  the  case  is  heated  and  upset 
at  the  mouth  end  before  completing  the  operations  in  the 
second  chucking. 

It  will  be  noted,  from  reference  to  the  production  time 
for  the  forged  case  in  Fig.  6  as  compared  with  the  case 
produced  from  the  bar  shown  in  Fig.  5,  that  there  is  con- 
siderable machining  time  saved  with  the  forged  cases. 
This,  however,  does  not  account  for  the  forging  time 
which  must  be  added  to  make  a  true  comparison  between 
the  two  methods. 

Shrapnel  Heads 

Shrapnel  heads  vary  considerably  in  proportions  accord- 
ing to  the  nominal  size.  This  is  indicated  in  Fig.  10, 
which  shows  3^-in.  and  6-in.  heads.     The  tool  set-up 


used  in  connection  with  these  pieces  is  shown  in  Fig.  11. 

Shrapnel  heads  are  produced  from  20-carbon  cold- 
rolled-steel  bar-stock.  AH  operations  are  completed  in 
one  chucking,  and  are  as  shown  in  Fig.  7.  An  interesting 
feature  in  connection  with  the  machining  of  this  piece 
is  the  employment  of  a  cross-slide  counterboring  attach- 
ment which  gets  in  its  work  on  the  fifth  turret  position. 
This  consists  of  a  lateral  slide  mounted  in  front  of  the 
cross-slide  and  carrying  a  head  with  inserted  formed  cut- 
ters. The  attachment  is  operated  by  a  push-and-pull  rod 
in  the  fifth  turret  hole.  Provision  is  made  for  stopping 
and  locking  the  cross-slide  in  the  proper  location  for  this 
attachment  to  operate,  this  being  cared  for  by  an  adjust- 
able cam  and  roll  stop,  the  latter  mounted  on  a  block  in 
conjunction  with  the  flat  forming-tool  post,  the  stopping 
cam  being  clamped  on  the  camshaft. 

The  two  remaining  parts  of  importance  are  the  fuse 
bodies  and  the  fuse  caps.    The  former  are  made  of  bronze 


Fig.  10.    3.8-In.  and  6-In.  Shrapnel  Heads 


Fig.  4.    Last  Operation  in  Making  3-In.  Shrapnel  Cases  from  Bar  Stock 

[20] 


(  Stock  gaged  to  length) 
lST  TURRET   HOLT 


(Drill) 


ta™.M»w„  ^"TURRET  HOLE 
__(Form  with  circular  ,        sh^wn^ 
former  at E.  counter-*  (N°J  \ VP 
bore,  taphole.rough  If-urcm/ 
groove  face) 


H  Mia.  l7Min.      12  Mia 

TIME  OF  OUTPUT  FOR  EACH  HEAD 


4th  TURRET  HOLE 
(Tap  with  collapsible  tap) 


TURRET  HOLE  (Finish  6roove  Face) 


FI6.7-  MACHINING   A  3.6-INCH  ,30  POUND  SHRAPNEL  HEAD. 
(MATERIAL  ,  20  CARBON,C.R.STEEL. TOTAL  TIME  12  MINUTES) 


BLANK 


Drill  and 
Turn) 


Ist  TURRET  HOLE. CONVEYOR. 
(NOT  SHOWN) 


2ND  TURRET  HOLE 


(Counterbore 
and  end  counter- 
bore) 


3R°TURRET  HOLE  AND 
CIRCULAR  FORMER 


(Recess) 


5,nTURRETH0LE  6'" TURRET  HOLE 

FIRST  CHUCKING. (OUTPUT  17  PER  HOUR) 

Ist  TURRET    HOLE     C0NVEY0R.(N0T  5H0WN) 


(Thread) 


FIRST   TURRET   HOLE 


(Dri/7,C'tvre 
JZM  under- 


cut face) 


(6age  Stop) 


(Counterbore 

-2^1  finish 
~  face) 


Z"D  TURRET  HOLE  AND 
CIRCULAR  FORMER 


3     TURRET    HOLE 


(Tap) 


(Recess) 


4  "  TURRET  HOLE  5th  TURRET  HOLE 

(Tap  and  cutoff) 

FIRST  CHUCKING.(  OUTPUT.  50  PER  HOUR) 
Ist  TURRET  HOLE  .CONVEYOR.  (NOT  SHOWN) 


^(Circular 
■Forming) 


JUndercufand 
1  endC'bore) 


(Thread) 


(Drill 

turnand 

Chore) 


SECOND    CHUCKING. (OUTPUT  30  PER  HOUR) 

FIG.&- MACHINING  A  FUSE  BODY. 
(MATERIAL ,  BRONZE  STAMPING  OR  BRASS  CASTING) 


(Drill) 


(Counterbore) 


2"°TURRET   HOLE  AND  3"°  TURRET 

CIRCULAR  FORMER  HOLE 

SECOND   CHUCKING.(OUTPUT  190  PER  HOUR) 
FIG.9- MACHINING  A  FUSE  CAP  (MATERIAL, 'BAR   &RASS) 


Machining  Shrapnel  Heads,  Fuse  Bodies  and  Fuse  Caps  on  Automatic  Tueret  Lathes 

[21] 


stampings  or  brass  castings,  the  latter  are  machined  from 
bar-brass  stock.  In  handling  these  parts,  a  full  auto- 
matic, equipped  with  tilting  magazine  and  air  chuck,  is 
used  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  12.  The  air  chuck  A  is  screwed 
on  the  spindle  in  place  of  the  regular  chuck  hood.  It  is 
fitted  with  three  removable  jaws,  as  B, 
which  receive  pads  that  are  shaped  to 
suit  the  work  handled.  A  connecting- 
rod  fitted  to  a  piston  in  the  cylinder 
is  attached  to  the  chuck  jaws  B,  and 
the  admission  of  air  to  either  side  of 
the  piston,  controlled  by  the  camming 
of  the  machine,  opens  and  closes  the 
chuck. 

The  magazine  is  fitted  with  a  link 
belt  M,  which  has  bushings  conform- 
ing to  the  shape  of  the  fuse  blocks  and 
caps  to  be  handled.  When  the  maga- 
zine L  tilts  up  after  the  conveyer  N 
has  removed  the  piece,  the  lever  P 
comes  in  contact  with  a  pin  which  in- 
dexes the  link  belt  and  advances  the 
next  piece  of  work. 

The  fuse  body  requires  two  chuck- 
ings,  both  of  which  are  handled  by  the 
automatic  magazine.  The  operations 
on  this  piece  are  shown  in  Fig.  8.  The 
fuse  cap  in  its  first  chucking  is  han- 
dled  in   bar  form,  and   in   its  second 


chucking  is  held  in  the  pneumatic  chuck  and  fed  by  the 
automatic  magazine.  The  method  of  machining  the  fuse 
caps  is  shown  in  Fig.  9. 

The  method  of  handling  and  the  sequence  of  opera- 
tions are  clearly  shown  in  the  illustrations. 


Fig.  12.    Machine  Equipped  with  Magazine  andPneumatic 
Chuck  foij  Producing  Fuse  Bodies  and  Fuse  Caps 


Fig.  11.     The  Set-Up  for  Producing  Shrapnel  Heads  on  a  Cleveland  Automatic 

[22] 


J&imiE'  4lhi< 


IS-lIbo  Brittislh. 

By  John  H.  Van  Deventer 


Ihraisiniel— I 


SYNOPSIS — Here  is  a  complete  exposition  of  the 
manufacture  of  the  18-lb.  British  shrapnel.  Each 
operation  described  in  detail,  including  the  tooling, 
chucking,  gaging,  and  production  time.  The  ma- 
chine tools  used  are  the  standard  types  commonly 
found  in  every  machine  shop,  and  the  extreme  sub- 
division of  operations  maintained  makes  their  de- 
scription a  basic  one. 

In  time  of  peace,  if  you  were  to  approach  a  manufac- 
turer with  the  proposition  that  he  completely  side-track 
his  regular  product  and  begin  at  once  to  make  something 
that  he  has  never  seen  and  seldom  heard  of,  you  would,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  be  answered  by  an  emphatic  "Im- 


doing  within  the  last  few  months  forcibly  proves  that 
we  never  know  what  we  can  do  until  we  have  to  do  it. 
The  tremendous  demand  for  war  materials  made  itself 
felt  throughout  all  of  the  British  possessions  almost  si- 
multaneously with  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  The  Gov- 
ernment arsenals  could  not  begin  to  supply  more  than  a 
fractional  part  of  the  shells  required  to  keep  the  field 
guns  in  operation.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  Ca- 
nadian manufacturers  devote  themselves  at  once  to  this 
new  line  of  work.  The  matter  was  put  into  the  hands  of 
a  shell  committee,  consisting  of  military  officials  and  the 
active  managers  and  owners  of  Canadian  machine  shops. 
As  a  result,  over  130  machine  shops  in  Canada  are  now 
engaged  in  making  shrapnel  or  parts  composing  them. 
And  the  strange  part  of  it  is  this — without  previous  ex- 
perience and  in  many  cases  with  me- 
chanical makeshifts  far  from  the  best, 
many  of  these  shops  have,  under  the 
unusual  stimulus  of  war,  succeeded  in 
this  comparatively  short  time  in  mak- 
ing shells  at  a  production  rate  that 
compares  favorably  with  the  Govern- 
ment arsenals. 


Fig.  1.     The  18-Lb.  British  Shell,  from  Rough  to  Finished  State 

possible."  In  spite  of  the  well  deserved  reputation  of  the 
American  manufacturer  for  ingenuity  and  adaptability, 
formidable  obstacles  would  pass  in  mental  review.  He 
would  see  the  short  time  allowed  for  the  complete  trans- 
formation of  his  established  line;  the  new  product,  held 


The  Predominance  of  the 
18-Pounder 

For  the  reason  of  a  maximum  dam- 
aging ability  combined  with  a  mini- 
mum of  labor  of  handling  both  the  gun  itself  and  its 
ammunition,  the  18-poundery  which  corresponds  to  a  3.3- 
in.  diameter,  is  at  the  head  of  the  list,  seconded  by 
the  15-pounder,  which  is  0.3  in.  less  in  diameter.  Of 
the  two  sizes,  the  first  is  preferable  from  a  manufac- 
turing viewpoint,  being  small  enough  to  be  within  the 
capacity  of  ordinary  machine  tools  and  large  enough 


Fig.  2.    Cutting  Off  and  Beaming 

at  every  operation  to  strict  limits  of  accuracy ;  the  need  of 
a  newborn  organization,  with  past  training  and  prece- 
dent forgotten,  retaining  only  its  inherent  skill.  It  would 
require  a  stronger  stimulus  than  that  ordinarily  offered 
in  times  of  peace  to  tempt  him  to  take  the  risk. 

A  survey  of  what  Canadian  manufacturers  have  been 


Fig.  3.    Bough-Turning  the  Body 

to  allow  the  boring  bars  and  other  equipment  to  be  made 
suitably  rigid  for  heavy  cuts.  While  this  article  deals 
specifically  with  the  18-pounder,  the  same  operations  are 
used  in  machining  the  15-pounder,  which  is  held  within 
corresponding  accuracy  limits. 

The  Canadian  Ingersoll-Band  Co.  was  among  the  first 


[23] 


to  offer  to  deliver  a  certain  number  of  shells  per  week, 
in  conformity  with  the  distribution  of  work  made  by  the 
Canadian  Shell  Committee.  It  should  be  mentioned 
that  it  is  one  of  the  few  shops  that  has  not  delivered 
slightly  under  the  rated  quota,  which,  in  this  case,  started 
with  2000  shells  per  week  and  gradually  increased  until 


Pig.  4.    Bough-Facing  Jig 

FOR  THE  BlJLLARD 

Mill 


Fig.  5.  Type  op  Vise 

Used  at  the  Can- 

adian-Ingersoll- 

Eand  Co. 


Fig.  6.    Finish-Facing  the  Base  and  Turning  the  , 
Base  to  Size 

now  it  is  over  the  3000  mark.  Possibly  the  most  inter- 
esting part  of  this  to  the  mechanic  is  the  fact  that  it  has 
been  done  without  special  or  automatic  machines,  chiefly 
by  extremely  well  planned  tooling  and  first-class  shop 
management.  In  fact,  only  one  machine  tool  has  been 
added  to  the  equipment  at  this  plant  since  it  started  to 
manufacture  shrapnel. 

In  speaking  of  shrapnel  in  this  article,  the  word  is 
taken  to  mean  the  steel  case  containing  the  lead  balls 
which  are  credited  with  so  much  destructiveness  on  the 
field  of  battle.  These  are  shipped  to  England  at  present 
without  the  brass  cartridge  cases  containing  the  impelling 
powder  charge  or  the  fuse  which  regulates  the  time  of  ex- 
plosion after  the  shell  leaves  the  gun.  The  bursting  charge 
is  not  added  to  the  shell  until  it  has  been  received  on  the 
other  side,  although  it  is  completely  filled  with  balls  em- 
bedded in  rosin  before  it  leaves  the  factory. 

Changing  from  Millers  to  Discarded  Lathes 
The  Canadian  Ingersoll-Band  Co.  normally  manufac- 
tures a  line  of  compressed-air  machines,  including  air 


drills,  chipping  hammers,  air  compressors,  and  mining 
machines.  The  requirements  of  this  kind  of  work  led 
to  the  adoption  of  a  large  number  of  millers,  especially 
during  the  last  two  or  three  years,  during  which  time 
a  large  amount  of  work  was  transferred  from  turret  lathes 
to  machines  of  this  type.  In  fact,  at  the  time  the  war 
broke  out,  a  number  of  engine  and  turret  lathes  were 
standing  idle,  many  of  them  on  the  company's  "for-sale" 
list,  to  be  disposed  of  when  opportunity  offered. 

Today  one  observes  an  exactly  opposite  condition.  The 
millers  are  standing  idle  and  the  discarded  lathes  take  a 
prominent  place  in  the  foreground  of  activity,  for  the. 
manufacture  of  shrapnel  is  essentially  a  turning  propo- 
sition. 

Eeconstructed  Engine  Lathes 

An  advantage  which  this  plant  already  had  was  the 
possession  of  a  first-class  toolroom.  The  tooling-up  for  a 
proposition  that  runs  into  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pieces 
is  vitally  important,  for  every  cent  nipped  off  of  an  op- 
eration means  a  thousand  dollars  or  more.  As  a  result  of 
this,  one  finds  many  reconstructed  engine  lathes  fairly 
well  disguised  by  the  addition  of  special  chucks,  revolving 


Fig.  7.    Boring  on  the  Flat  Turret 


Fig.  8.    Producing  the  Wave  on  a  P.  &  J.  Automatic 

turrets,  or  square-turret  tool  posts  of  the  Gisholt  type. 
Their  builders  would  hardly  recognize  them.  But  where 
the  original  machines,  as  a  general  utility  tool,  had  a 
possible  average  of  40  to  50  per  cent,  efficiency,  the  recon- 
structed machines  with  their  specialized  attachments  prob- 
ably figures  nearer  to  80  or  90  per  cent.,  from  a  viewpoint 
of  doing  what  they  have  been  designed  to  do.  Even  the 
addition  of  a  square-turret  tool  post  to  an  engine  lathe,  in 
cases  where  the  same  tools  are  used  over  and  over  again 
in  sequence,  cuts  down  the  loss  of  time  very  noticeably- 

[24] 


Fig.  9.,   Table  for  the  Second  Shop  Inspection 


Here  one  finds  an  illustration  of  good  work  done  on  old 
tools.  Possibly  the  most  important  part  of  the  entire 
shell,  as  far  as  the  limit  of  accuracy  is  concerned,  is  the 
thickness  of  Avail  directly  behind  the  thread  seat  at  the 
nose  end.  While  other  dimensions  have  high  and  low  lim- 
its, this  particular  one  is  marked  simply 
by  the  exact  dimension,  and  the  slight- 
est deviation  shown  by  the  inspector's 
micrometer  from  this  dimension,  causes 
che  rejection  of  the  shell.  One  of  the 
machines  used  for  performing  the  oper- 
ations on  this  part  is  an  old  turret  lathe 
so  inaccurate  that  it  had  the  reputation 
of  not  being  able  to  hold  a  size  within 
one-eighth  inch  of  any  given  dimension. 
But  when  equipped  with  a  positive  tur- 
ret-locking device  and  a  cam  which  con- 
trolled the  movement  of  the  cutting 
tools,  the  machine  was  able  to  live  down 
its  former  bad  reputation  and  is  today  producing  work 
fully  up  to  the  exacting  requirements. 

Various  Kinds  of  Chucks 

One  of  the  first  considerations,  and  a  very  important 
one,  is  the  method  of  chucking  the  shell.  The  require- 
ments are  firm  gripping  and  complete  and  rapid  self- 
centering.  The  internal  chuck  used  for  trie  second  opera- 
tion presents  the  most  difficult  problem.  With  a  restricted 
space  in  which  to  act,  and  its  dimensions  limited  by  the 
inside  of  the  rough  shell,  it  has  nevertheless  to  withstand 
the  most  severe  cutting  strain  of  any  during  the  whole 


process.  The  details  of  this  chucking  arbor  are  shown  on 
the  second  operation  sheet,  and  that  it  serves  its  purpose 
may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  a  rough  cut  T8g  in.  deep 
and  with  a  %-in.  feed  is  taken  over  the  shell  at  a  speed 
of  70  ft. 


R^ 

^^fl&=?=*C<^^ 

^1      H    W 

f7*>  ;  v  3  ^>F^ 

Fig.  10.    Gages  for  the  Second  Shop  Inspection 

The  external  chucking  of  the  shell  is  a  simpler  propo- 
sition. Various  types  of  chucks  are  being  used  for  this 
purpose.  The  hinged  chuck  shown  in  operation  6  was 
one  of  the  first  put  in  service,  but  was  not  altogether  satis- 
factory, as  slight  variations  in  the  diameter  of  the  shell, 


Fig.  11.    Turning  and  Boring  the  Nose  After  Heat 
Treatment 


Fig.  12.    Type  of  Truck  Boxes  Used  for  Shop 
Transportation 


[25] 


"3 


OPERATION  1.  LAY  OUT.  CUT  OFF  AND  REAM  BURR 

Machines  Used — Cutting-off  machines  with  front  and  back 
cutting  tools,  A. 

Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Mandrel  for  laying  out,  B;  sur- 
face gage,  C;  surface  plate,  D;  bevel  hand  reamer  for 
removing  burr    (held  against  rotating  shell),   E. 

Gages — None. 

Production— From  one  machine  and  one  operator,  20  per 
hour,   including  laying  out. 

Note — Soap-water   lubrication   used    in    cutting. 

Reference — See   halftone,    Fig.   2. 
OPERATION  2.      ROUGH-TURN  BODY  AND  TURN  BEVEL 

Machine  Used — Gisholts  and  engine  lathes  fitted  with  turret 
tool-posts. 


mmwmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm% 

Table 


OPERATION  3.     ROUGH-FACE  BASE  END  OF  SHELL 
Machine    Used — 42-in.    vertical    turret    lathe. 
Special    Fixtures    and    Tools — Circular    chucking    fixture     to 

hold    24    shells,   A. 
Gages — Thickness    gage,    %    in.    square,    for    setting    tool    at 

correct  height  in  connection  with  finished  surface  B. 
Production — From    one   machine    and    one    operator,    48    shells 

per  hour. 
Reference — See  halftone,   Fig.   4. 
OPERATION    4.      FINISH-FACE    END,    FINISH-TURN    BASE 

.*  AND  MAKE  RADIUS  ON  BASE  EDGE 

Machines   Used — 16-in.    turret   lathes   and   engine   lathes   with 

sauare-turret   tool-posts. 


■■3.305* 
10.00Z5* 


3.3075 


J] 


J 

1 

1                    2- 

B 

3 

I 

Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Expanding  mandrel,  A;  special 
driving  dog,,  E,  Cutting  tools:  For  rough-turning 
body,  Bl;  for  finish-turning  body,  B2;  for  forming 
taper,  B3. 

Gages — Limit  snap-gage  for  diameter,  C.  Gage  for  setting 
taper-turning  tool  (used  against  mandrel  before  shell 
is   chucked),   D. 

Production — From  one  machine  and  one  operator,  six  per 
hour. 

Note — The   accuracy   of   finish    of   the   body   at   this   stage   is 

on  account  of  future  chucking  in  special  chucks. 
Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.   3. 


Z3W- 

■yopoz 


,-toipD 


Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Split-collet  chuck,  with  internal 
distance  arbor,  A;  steady-head  for  supporting  the  collet 
chuck,  B;  split  adaptor  bushing,  to  make  up  for  taper 
end  of  shell,  C.  Cutting  tools:  For  finish-facing  base, 
Dl;  for  finish-turning  base,  D2;  for  rounding  corner, 
D3. 

Gages — Limit  snap-gage  for  base  diameter,  E;  radius  gage, 
F;  distance  block  for  setting  facing  cut  from  internal 
distance   arbci,   G. 

Production — From  one  macnine  and  one  operator,  10  per  hour. 

Note — The  completion  of  the  base  end  at  this  operation 
eliminates   one    operation    on   the    grinderg. 

Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.  6. 


[26] 


even  within  permissible  limits  of  accuracy,  made  con- 
siderable difference  in  holding  power.  Split-collet  chucks, 
as  shown  in  operations  4,  21  and  27,  have  proved 
more  satisfactory.  The  latest  improvement  is  to  equip 
several  of  these  chucks  with  draw-in  collets  operated  by 
compressed-air  pistons,  which  effects  a  creditable  economy 
in  the  time  of  chucking.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  nearly 
all  cases  the  special  chuck  is  equipped  with  a  "steady- 


head,"  which  is  necessary  to  avoid  spring  due  to  the  length 
of  the  shell. 

The  Advantages  of  Subdivided  Operations 

There  are  two  widely  different  principles  in  quantity 
manufacturing,  each  of  which  has  its  apparent  advantages 
and  supporters.  These  are  nowhere  any  better  illustrated 
than  in  the  manufacture  of  shrapnel  shells.    Some  believe 


Operation  5 


k?Sr*l        k-#-*l 


Pi 


1  ^-W-Mfl    f"~ 

Mi! 

jini'lHi 

i'iWi'i!  ►, 


! i    I 


]«** 


*' 


p—  2300"— *\       &, 


TOOL     6  I 


?*-— 7.827" 


S"  r-n— 
32  -i.lL. 


•<  —2.527"  •  ^ 


T 


TOOL    as 


OPERATION   5 

First  Shop  Inspection — The  cases  are  inspected  for  size  of 
base  diameter,  radius  of  corner,  etc.,  using  gages  sim- 
ilar to  those  in  the  operation  4.  The  carbon  content 
is  also  stamped  on  the  shell  ,base  at  this  point,  shells 
being  put  through  in  lots  of  the  same  carbon  content. 
Up  to  this  point  the  various  lots  were  distinguished 
by  paint  marks  inside  the  shell.  At  this  inspection 
particular  attention  is  paid  to  defects  and  flaws,  es- 
pecially at  the  base  of  the  shell,  so  that  further  labor 
will  not  be  put  on  defective  cases. 

Production — Sixty    per    hour    per    inspector. 

OPERATION  6.  BORE  POWDER-POCKET  AND  DISK-SEAT, 
ROUGH-TURN  AND  PACE  NOSE  END 

Machines   Used — J.   &   L.    flat-turret   lathes. 


Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Special  hinged  chuck,  A.  Cut- 
ting tools:  For  rough-boring  powder  pocket,  Bl;  for 
finish-boring  powder  pocket,  B2;  for  rough-boring 
disk  seat,  B3;  for  reaming  disk  seat,  B4;  for  facing 
nose  end,  B5;   for  turning  nose  end,  B6. 

Gages — Double-end  limit  plug-gage  for  diameter  of  powder 
pocket,  C;  double-end  limit  plug-gage  for  diameter  of 
disk-seat,  D;  special  limit  gage  for  depth  of  powder- 
pocket,   E. 

Production — Prom  one  machine  and  one  operator,  16  per  hour. 

Note — 1.  Lard  oil  is  used  on  this  operation  as  a  cutting  lubri- 
cant. 2.  Upper  end  of  gage  E,  illustrating  register  of 
+  and  —  surfaces,  shown  at  F.  3.  Details  of  hing«d 
chuck,   shown   at  G. 

Reference — See  halftone,   Fig.   7. 


[27] 


in  putting  as  many  operations  as  possible  upon  one  ma- 
chine; others,  in  reducing  each  operation  to  its  lowest 
terms.  The  Canadian  Ingersoll-Eand  management  advo- 
cates the  latter.  It  produces  several  arguments  in  favor 
of  this  plan,  in  addition  to  the  final  proof  of  a  remark- 
ably low  total-production  time. 

"When  you  multiply  operations,  you  multiply  trouble," 
says  Mr.  Sangster,  plant  superintendent.  "You  have  more 
trouble  in  making  an  expert  operator  out  of  a  green  hand, 
and  the  delay  is  more  serious  in  case  anything  goes  wrong. 
Taking  all  in  all,  the  flexibility  and  freedom  from  seri- 
ous delays  accompanying  fine  subdivision  of  operation 
more  than  make  up  for  the  slight  extra  cost  of  handling 
pieces  from  one  machine  to  another."  It  may  be  possible 
that  this  simplification  of  operations  has  something  to  do 
with  the  quickness  with  which  this  organization  has  taken 
hold  of  a  new  line  of  work.    Each  man  has  a  simple  and 


responding  gages  at  each  machine  for  each  inspected  op- 
eration. Since  there  are  over  40  inspections  on  a  shell,  the 
gage  question  is  quite  a  serious  one.  The  Ingersoll-Rand 
Co.  placed  their  initial  order  for  gages  with  a  New  Eng- 
land concern,  which  was  already  up  to  its  neck  in  similar 
orders,  and  the  delivery  of  these  gages,  which  were  neces- 
sary before  manufacture  could  be  started,  was  delayed 
for  several  weeks. 

Most  of  the  gages  are  of  the  "snap"  type,  having  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  measuring  surfaces  on  the  same  gage. 
One  of  the  most  ingenious  is  shown  in  operation  8  at  B. 
This  is  used  to  measure  the  depth  of  the  powder  pocket. 
The  inner  gaging  spindle  slides  within  the  outer  reference 
sleeve,  and  is  provided  with  a  notch  milled  at  its  upper 
end,  with  two  surfaces,  one  plus  and  one  minus.  The  in- 
spector, by  grasping  the  outer  sleeve  and  placing  his 
thumb  on  the  notch,  can  readily  feel  the  register  of  maxi- 


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OPERATION    7.      CUT    RECESS   AND   MAKE   WAVES 

Machines  Used — P.  &  J.  automatic  chucking  machines. 

Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Special  chuck,  jaws  hored  for 
shell  diameter,  A;  wave  cam,  attached  to  faceplate,  B. 
Cutting  tools:  For  roughing  recess  (carried  on  cross- 
slide),  CI;  for  forming  wave  (carried  on  cross-slide), 
C2;  for  undercutting  recess  (carried  on  cross-slide 
and  fed  by  arm  on  turret),  C3. 

definite  task  to  accomplish,  and  his  work  presents  a  prob- 
lem which  is  not  made  difficult  of  solution  by  containing 
too  many  variable  and  unknown  quantities. 

Delay  at  the  Start 

While  the  progress  made  in  this  new  line  of  work  is 
really  remarkable,  considering  the  short  space  of  time  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Canadian  manufacturers,  considerable 
unnecessary  though  unavoidable  delay  was  occasioned  in 
securing  the  first  sets  of  gages.  Shell  manufacture  is 
strictly  a  limit-gage  proposition,  and  to  go  about  it  prop- 
erly requires,  in  addition  to  the  master  set  of  gages  used 
for  reference  purposes,  a  set  of  inspection  gages  and  cor- 


Gages — Limit  snap-gage  for  bottom  of  groove,  D;  limit 
snap-gage  for  diameter  of  top  of  waves,  E;  template 
for  height  and  form  of  wave,  F;  limit  gage  for  dis- 
tance of  recess  from  base,  G;  limit  gage  for  width  of 
recess,   H;   minimum  limit  gage   for  undercut,   J 

Production — From  one  machine  and  one  operator,  10  par  hour. 

Note — Method  of  cutting  the  three-wave  cam  on  engine  lathe, 
shown  at  K.     Waves  and  recess,  shown  full  size  at  L. 

Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.  8. 

mum  and  minimum  surfaces  with  the  outer  sleeve  and  per- 
form his  inspection  without  the  necessity  of  looking  at  the 
gage.  • 

Another  well  designed  device  indicates  the  thickness  of 
the  base  of  the  shell.  It  is  shown  at  A,  operation  8, 
and  consists  of  a  surface  plate,  a  mandrel  for  holding  the 
shell  and  a  maximum  and  minimum  gage  fastened  into  a 
heavy  base  which  slides  upon  the  surface  plate. 

The  transportation  system  already  in  use  in  this  plant 
was  well  adapted  to  care  for  the  new  line  of  work.  Trans- 
fer trucks  with  removable  platforms  had  been  used  for 
some  time  and  it  was  but  a  small  task  to  construct  spe- 
cial platforms  for  shells;  some  of  these  are  indicated  in 


[28] 


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OPERATION    8.      PRELIMINARY    SHOP    INSPECTION 
Gages — For   ±   thickness  of  base,  A;  for   ±   depth  of  powder 
pocket,    B;    for    ±  diameter    of    powder    pocket,    C;    for 
±  diameter  of  disk  seat,  D;  for   ±   length   over  all,  E; 
for    ±  diameter   of   base,   P;    for    ±    diameter   of   recess 
at  bottom,  G;  for   ±  diameter  over  waves,  H;  for   ±  re- 
cess  width,   I;    for    ±  distance   of   recess   from   base,   J; 
for    — undercut,    K;    for    ■ — thickness    of    nose,    L;    for 
—  diameter  of  nose,  M.     Total,  23  gaging  operations. 
Production — Fifty   shells   per  hour   inspected   by   two   men. 
Reference — See  halftones,  Figs.   9  and  10. 


OPERATION  9. 
Equipment  Used- 


HEAT-TREAT,  GRIND  SPOT  AND  TEST 
-Muffle   furnaces  for  hardening  and  temper- 


ing, A;  oil  baths  for  quenching,  B;  plain  grinder  for 
spotting,  C;  scleroscope,  D;  boxes  for  120  shells,  E; 
special   shell   tongs,   F. 

Production — Heating  and  quenching;  16  shells  per  hour  per 
furnace.  Four  furnaces  in  operation,  tended  by  two 
men. 

Note — Heat  treatment  consists  of  heating  to  1460  deg.  F., 
and  quenching,  then  reheating  to  between  650  deg.  and 
1000  deg.  F.,  according  to  carbon  contents,  and  tem- 
pering. Carbon  varies  from  45  to  55  points.  Oil  fuel 
is  used,  and  heat  is  controlled  by  pyrometers.  After 
sorting  into  batches,  two  shells  are  selected  at  ran- 
dom, one  for  tensile-strength  test,  the  other  for  firing 
proof. 


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OPERATION  10— MAKE   TENSILE-STRENGTH   TEST-PIECE 

Saw  out  test-piece  on  miller,  mill  flat-faces,  mill  slot,  drill 
test-piece  and  file   in   jig. 

Machines  Used — Drilling   machines   and   plain   miller. 

Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Distance  collars  for  miller  arbor 
for  sawing  test-piece,  A;  thickness  blocks  for  miller 
vise  for  milling  flat  faces,  B;  round-corner  cutter  for 
milling  slot,  C;  drill  jig  for  drilling,  D;  filing  jig  for 
filing,    E. 

Gages — Micrometer. 

Production — One  man  performing  all  operations  can  produce 
one  in   2J  hr. 


OPERATION  11.  REHEAT  IN  LEAD  BATH,  INSERT  DISK, 
"BOTTLE"  NOSE  END,   REHEAT  AND  ANNEAL 

Equipment  Used — Lead  pot  A;  bottling  press,  B;  bottling  die, 
C;   lower  ring,  D;   mica  box,   E. 

Production — With  one  lead  pot,  one  bottling  press  and  two 
men,  60  per  hour. 

Note — The  "disk"  is  inserted  just  previous  to  "bottling," 
after  heating  the  case.  The  bottling  press  used  at  the 
Canadian  Ingersoll-Rand  plant  is  a  rebuilt  Leyner 
mine  drill  sharpener.  The  die  is  water-cooled  so  the 
shell  will  not  stick  to  it. 


[29] 


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OPERATION  12.  SANDBLAST  BASE  END  AND  RECESS 

Note — The  sandblast  has  been  found  most  satisfactory  to  re- 
move the  scale  due  to  heat  treatment. 

Production — One  apparatus  and  one  operator,  60  per  hour. 
OPERATION    14.      RETAP    NOSE 

Machines  Used — Radial  drilling  machines. 

Special   Fixtures  and  Tools — Vise   for   holding  shell,  A. 

Gages — Plug  gage  for  thread. 

Production — One   operator   and   one   machine,   20   per   hour. 

Note — For  another  view  of  the  type   of  vise   used   see   half- 
tone.  Fig.   5. 

OPERATION  13.  TURN,  BORE,  FACE  AND  TAP  NOSE  END 

Machine    Used — Turret    lathes    and    engine    lathes    with    im- 
provised   turrets. 

Fig.  12.  Each  box  holds  60  shells,  one-half  of  the  common 
unit  lot-number  of  120.  The  portable  vises,  shown  in 
Fig.  5,  were  another  convenience  which  enabled  the  re- 
arrangement to  be  made  without  difficulty.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  fixed  work  benches  have  been  unknown  in 
this  plant.  Portable  vises  with  cast-iron  stands  are  used 
in  connection  with  portable  work  tables,  thus  securing 
great  flexibility  in  the  assembling  departments.  It  is 
also  rather  peculiar  that  in  a  plant  arranged  for  purposes 
entirely  different  from  shell  making,  it  was  unnecessary 
to  change  the  location  of  any  of  the  machine  tools,  and 
that  at  the  same  time  the  process  should  be  so  remark- 
ably free  from  "back-tracking." 

The  arrangement  of  the  shop  inspections  is  made  with 
the  idea  of  catching  defectives  in  time  to  prevent  un- 
necessary labor  loss.  The  first  inspection,  operation  5, 
is  made  to  come  before  the  shells  are  bored,  so  that  any 
defects  or  pipes  which  would  condemn  the  shell  may  be 
discovered  at  this  time.  Shells  which  have  the  least  sign 
of  defect  at  the  base  end  are  immediately  rejected,  since 
a  flaw  at  this  point  might  be  the  means  of  igniting  the 
bursting  charge  in  the  shell  at  the  time  that  the  exploding 
charge  in  the  cartridge  case  is  fired. 

Heat  treatment  is  one  of  the  most  critical  operations 
on  the  shell  and  must  be  given  careful  handling.  The 
insistence  upon  this  point  is  due  to  the  tendency  of  a 

[30] 


Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Hinged  and  collet  chucks,  same 
as  operations  4  and  6  (hinged  chuck  shown  at  A) ; 
nose  turning  and  boring  cam,  B.  Cutting  tools:  Out- 
side turning  and  facing  tool,  CI;  boring  tool  for  rough- 
ing thread  seat  in  nose,  C2;  boring  tool  for  boring  in- 
side of  nose,  C3;  reamer  for  thread  seat,  C4;  collapsible 
tap  for  tapping  thread  in  nose,  C5. 

Gages — Gage  for  wall  thickness,  D;  gage  for  wall  thickness, 
E;  length  gage,  F;  profile  template  for  nose,  H;  limit 
snap-gage  for  large  end,  I;  gage  for  length  of  thread 
seat,  G. 

Production — From    one    machine    and    one    operator,    between 

five  and  six  per  hour. 
Reference — See   halftone,   Fig.    11. 

shell  when  fired  to  change  its  shape  while  in  the  gun. 
There  are  enormous  strains  imposed  at  this  time,  and  if 
the  material  in  the  shell  is  of  low  elastic  limit  or  too  duc- 
tile, it  is  likely  to  expand  and  grip  the  bore  of  the  gun, 
causing  an  explosion. 

The  muffle  type  of  furnace  has  been  adopted  for  heat 
treating  the  shells  as  being  more  convenient  than  the  ordi- 
nary heating  furnace,  which  necessitates  a  higher  lift  in 
placing  and  removing  the  shrapnel.  It  must  be  stated, 
however,  that  the  cast-iron  pots  which  are  used  in  the 
muffles  at  present  are  not  altogether  satisfactory,  since 
they  burn  out  quite  frequently.  Steps  are  now  being 
taken  to  design  furnaces  of  the  same  general  type  but  con- 
structed entirely  of  firebrick.  Electrical  pyrometers  are 
used  to  indicate  and  control  the  temperatures. 

The  "bottling,"  or  closing-in,  of  the  shell  is  a  simpler 
operation  than  most  people  imagine.  The  nose  end  of  the 
shell  is  heated  to  a  dull  red  heat  in  a  lead  pot.  At  this 
temperature,  very  little  force  is  required  to  close  up  the 
nose  end,  and  it  has  been  done  on  almost  every  conceiv- 
able kind  of  a  machine  from  tire  upsetters  to  bulldozers, 
not  excluding  steam  hammers  and  punch-presses.  At 
this  plant,  a  reconstructed  mine-drill  sharpener  is  used  for 
the  purpose,  and  the  bottling  die  is  water-cooled  so  that 
the  shell  will  drop  out  without  sticking. 


Maki 


LiOo    i©2°E' 


•II 


By  John  H.  Van  Deventer 


SYNOPSIS — The  process  of  finishing  the  body 
and  nose  of  shrapnel  shells  by  grinding  is  described 
in  this  issue;  also,  the  comparatively  little  known 
operations  which  follow  are  shown  step  by  step  to 
complete  the  shell  for  shipment.  The  production 
time,  as  well  as  the  means  and  processes  employed, 
is  given  for  each  operation. 

Grinding  the  body  and  nose  of  shrapnel  shells  to  fin- 
ished size  is  a  comparatively  recent  development  in  the 
art  of  producing  these  pieces.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
grinding  the  curved  face  of  the  nose  with  a  full-width 
wheel  formed  to  the  proper  radius.  The  process  is  one 
that  has  come  into  use  during  the  last  few  months,  and 
the  Canadian  Ingersoll-Eand  Co.  was  the  first  Canadian 
shop  to  employ  it.  Its  experience  on  this  operation  is 
therefore  particularly  valuable.  It  is  felt  that  the  saving 
in  cost  when  using  a  grinder  for  this  purpose,  instead 
of  turning  the  shell  to  shape  in  a  lathe,  is  slight,  but  that 
the  much  greater  output  possible  from  a  given  floor  space 
more  than  offers  a  compelling  inducement. 

It  is  important  to  keep  the  wheel  in  proper  shape,  es- 
pecially in  view  of  the  fact  of  the  critical  inspection  to 
follow.  This  is  done  by  means  of  diamond  truing-up 
devices.    One  of  these  for  the  nose  wheel  is  shown  in  opera- 


ing  wheel.  It  will  be  noticed  that,  in  addition  to  its  curve, 
this  wheel  has  a  straight  face  for  approximately  %  in. 
at  the  side  nearest  the  base  end  of  the  shell.  This  is  pro- 
duced on  the  wheel  after  truing  the  curve  by  locking  the 


■aw      mm  urn      , m  «■ 

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«. 

Fig.  14.     Fitting  Driving  Dogs  and  Center  Plugs 
for  Grinding 


Fig.  13.     The  Powder  Tube,  Powder  Cup,  Lead  Balls,  Steel 
Disk,  Fuse  Socket  and  Plug 


tion  16 ;  it  consists  of  a  radial  diamond 
holder  mounted  so  as  to  reproduce  the 
radius  of  the  shell  nose  on  the  grind- 


diamond  in  position  and  allowing  the 
wheel  to  traverse.  At  this  point  is  the 
"shoulder"  of  the  shell,  which  is  from 
one  to  two  thousandths  larger  at  this 
diameter  than  at  any  other,  excepting, 
of  course,  the  copper  drive  band. 

Every  effort  is  made  to  economize  the 
value  of  efforts  on  machine  tools.  In. 
Fig.  14  is  shown  a  bench  with  an  oper- 
ator busy  fitting  the  driving  dog  and 
plug-center  to  the  shells  in  preparation 
for  the  grinding  operations.  Thus  the 
grinder  operators  are  enabled  to  econo- 


NOTE — For  other  articles  on  tools  and 
methods  used  in  manufacturing  war  ma- 
terial, published  in  the  columns  of  the 
"American  Machinist"  since  the  first  of 
the  year,  see  the  following:  "The  Naval 
Repair  Ship  'Vestal,'"  page  45;  "What  a 
Shrapnel  Is  and  Does,"  page  89;  "Manu- 
facturing Shrapnel  Parts  on  Automatic 
Machines,"  page  91;  "Machining  and  Erect- 
ing 12-In.  Mortar  Carriages,"  page  133; 
"Some  Machine  Operations  in  Making 
Guns,"  page  193;  "Testing  and  Special 
Fixtures  for  Gun  Parts,"  page  237;  "Mak- 
ing Shrapnel  Shells  with  Ordinary  Tool 
Equipment,"  page  321;  "Automatic  Pro- 
duction of  Shrapnel-  and  Explosive-Shell 
Parts,"  page  397;  "The  Manufacture1  of 
18-Pounder  Shrapnel-Shell  Sockets  and 
Plugs,"  page  439;  "A  Bridge  Shop  Trans- 
formed into  an  Arsenal,"  page  449;  "The 
Double-Spindle  Flat-Turret  and  the  18- 
Lb.  Shrapnel,"  page  473;  "Making  the 
18-Lb.  British  Shrapnel — I,"  page  4  93. 

These  articles,  including  the  one  begin- 
ning on  this  page,  have  given  to  our  read- 
ers a  total  of  62  pages  of  practical  in- 
formation on  the  manufacture  of  war 
material   during   1915. — EDITOR. 


.  «  ^ 

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Fig.  15.    Grinding  the  Nose 


[31] 


Fig.  16.     Grinding  the  Body  of  the  Shell 


result,  the  operation  has  become  very 
specialized.  The  inspectors  follow  one 
another,  some  of  them  with  gages  in 
each  hand,  along  the  lines  of  shells  laid 
out  on  benches.  It  is  a  question  as  to 
how  much  these  methods  which  have 
resulted  from  having  to  get  the  job 
done  in  a  given  time  could  be  improved 
by  actual  time  or  motion  study  made 
in  advance  of  the  work. 

The  Copper  Drive  Band 

The  copper  drive  band  is  a  very  im- 
portant part  of  the  shell.     It  is  forced 


mize  their  time  and  produce  shells  at  the  rate  of  20  an 
hour  for  the  body  grinding  and  40  an  hour  for  nose  grind- 
ing. Considerable  power  is  required  for  these  operations, 
especially  for  the  body  grinding.  It  was  found  necessary 
to  put  up  a  separate  30-hp.  motor  for  the  body-grinding 
machine,  as  before  the  installation  of  this,  the  line-shaft 
speed  was  considerably  slackened  due  to  the  power  con- 
sumption.   , 

Two  grinding  operations  are  employed  at  this  plant. 
This  is  less  than  the  usual  number,  one  grinding  being 
eliminated  by  operation  4,  in  which  the  base  end  of  the 
shell  was  turned  to  its  finished  size.  Where  this  is  not 
done,  it  is  necessary  to  readjust  the  driving  dogs  and 
finish  the  base  of  the  shell  by  a  third  grinding  operation. 

The  Preliminary  Inspection 

After  the  grinding  processes,  the  shell  is  completed  as 
far  as  its  steel  case  is  concerned,  all  further  machining 
operations  being  upon  the  copper  and  brass  attached  parts. 
Therefore,  the  shells  are  at  this  point  checked  up  by  the 
Government  inspectors,  and  to  insure  as  small  a  percent- 
age of  rejections  as  possible,  they  are  prior  to  this  given 
what  is  called  a  preliminary  inspection  by  the  shop  in- 
spectors. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  gaging  fixtures  used  is 
that  for  determining  the  thickness  of  shell  walls  at  various 
points.  This  consists  of  a  holder  shown  in  operation  18 
at  A  and  in  Fig.  17  under  the  corresponding  letter.  This 
fixture  is  made  so  as  to  locate  the  shell  accurately  with 
reference  to  two  finished  surfaces  that  serve  as  bases  for 
special  micrometers  to  rest  upon,  insuring  that  the  thick- 
ness of  wall  shall  be  gaged  in  each  case  at  similar  points. 

The  micrometers,  if  such  they  may  be  called,  are  also 
unusual.  The  measurement  is  not  made  by  means  of  a 
screw,  but  by  plus  and  minus  location  surfaces  on  the 
sliding  spindle,  which  indicate  by  their  alignment  with 
a  milled  recess  in  the  holding  sleeve. 
The  register  of  these  plus  and  minus 
surfaces  can  be  felt  with  the  finger  nail 
without  the  necessity  of  looking  at  the 
gage. 

The  Government  inspectors  have 
been  forced  instinctively  to  adopt  a  sort 
of  motion  study  in  order  to  keep  up 
with  their  work.  "With  over  40  inspec- 
tions on  each  shell  and  500  shells  per 
day,  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  activity 
on  the  part  of  six  men  to  keep  up  the 
30,000  necessary  measurements.     As  a 


Fig.  18.    The  Drive-Band 

Hydraulic  Crimping 

Press 


Fig.  17.     Gages  Used  in  the  Second  Inspection 
[32] 


i nt 1 1  the  rifled  grooves  of  the  field  piece,  and  causes  the 
shell  to  rotate  as  it  travels  through  the  air.  This  copper 
band  in  reality  imports  the  spin  to  the  entire  shell  and 
does  this  in  such  a  short  interval  that  the  strain  to  which 
it  is  subject  is  enormous.  There  must  be  no  possibility 
of  its  turning  on  the  shell.  This  is  the  reason  for  the 
peculiarly  waved  ribs  in  the  band  recess. 

The  drive  bands  in  the 
rough  shape  are  simply  cop- 
per rings  large  enough  to  go 
over  the  base  end  of  the  shell. 
One  or  two  blows  of  a  ham- 
mer secures  them  from  fall- 
ing off  until  they  are  forced 
down  into  the  recess  by  the 
band-crimping  press.  The 
machine  used  for  this  pur- 
pose at  the  Ingersoll-Rand 
plant  is  one  of  their  own  de- 
sign and  is  shown  in  Fig.  18. 
The  crimping  dies  are  actu- 
ated by  toggles  connected 
with  a  lever  arm  that  is  oper- 
ated by  a  compressed-air  pis- 
ton. This  type  of  banding 
press  appears  to  be  more  con- 
venient than  the  horizontal 
type,  in  which  the  weight  of 
a  shell  must  be  supported  at  arm's  length. 

It  would  hardly  be  believed  that  the  amount  of  air 
contained  between  the  two  waved  ribs  and  the  copper  band 
would  prevent  the  latter  from  being  properly  seated. 
Those,  however,  who  have  not  had  any  experience  with 


a  radially  fed  forming  tool  would  do.  In  fact,  before  this 
attachment  was  used,  front  and  back  radial  forming  tools 
were  employed,  and  the  shell  became  so  hot  that  to  prevent 
distortion  it  was  necessary  to  fill  it  with  soda  water  pre- 
vious to  this  operation. 


Fig.  19.  The  Shot  Box 


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Fig.  20.     Filling  the  Shells  with  Rosin,  and 
Screwing  in  the  Plugs 

the  manufacture  of  shells  are  quite  likely  to  spend  time 
and  possibly  profanity  at  this  point  until  they  simplify 
matters  by  chipping  an  air-release  groove  through  the 
ribs. 

The  drive  band  is  machined  to  a  very  peculiar  finished 
shape.  This  is  shown  in  operation  21,  which  also  indi- 
cates the  process  by  which  the  copper  band  is  turned  to 
its  final  form.  The  lathe  on  which  this  operation  was  ob- 
served had  a  "home-made"  forming  slide  attached  to  the 
rear  of  the  carriage.  This  slide  carried  a  tool  which  took 
the  finishing  cut.  Being  fed  tangentially  across  the  work 
instead  of  straight  in  toward  the  center,  this  tool  took 
a  shearing  cut  and  distributed  the  heat  much  more  than 


Fig.  22.    Finishing  the  Fuse  Socket 

It  would  be  difficult  to  give  the  reason  for  such  a  pe- 
culiar outline  as  is  required  in  the  18-lb.  shell  drive  band. 
What  would  render  an  explanation  more  difficult,  is  the 
fact  that  the  15-pounder,  which  is  but  f\  in-  less  in  diam- 

ter,  has  a  compara- 
tively plain  drive 
band  without  any  re- 
verse curves,  which 
is  much  simpler  in 
every  way  to  machine 
and  measure. 

Filling  the  Shell 
An  understanding 
of  the  succeeding  few 
operations  in  which 
the  shells  are  filled 
will  be  helped  by  re- 
ferring to  Fig.  13. 
Here  are  shown  the 
parts  to  which  refer- 
ence will  be  made 
frequently.  The  brass 
powder  tube  having 
a  shoulder  at  one  end 
and  a  thread  cut  be- 
neath it  is  shown  at 
A.  At  B  is  the  tin 
powder  cup  of  a 
shape  to  fit  in  the 
powder  pocket,  and 
at  C  the  ^-in.  lead 
balls  which  are  used 
in  this  size  of  shell.  At  D  is  the  steel  drive  disk, 
which  is  an  unfinished  drop  forging,  and  at  E  the 
brass  fuse  socket,  which  is  machined  from  a  brass  stamp- 
ing. At  F  is  the  brass  plug,  which  is  made  from  a  cast- 
ing. All  of  these  parts,  as  well  as  the  steel. shell  forgings,, 
are  furnished  to  the  plants  that  are  turning  out  shrapnel. 


Fig.  21.     Soldering  the  Pow- 
der Tube  to  the  Fuse 
Socket 


[33] 


The  parts  A,  B,  C,  D  and  F  are  in  finished  shape  when 
received  and  require  no  labor  other  than  that  of  assemb- 
ling them  into  the  shell.  The  fuse  socket  E,  however,  af- 
ter becoming  a  part  of  the  shell,  is  machined  as  shown  in 
operation  27.  The  Canadian  shell  manufacturers  who  per- 
form the  operations  described  in  this  article  furnish  only 
their  labor. 

It  is  somewhat  of  a  problem  to  the  uninitiated  to  fig- 
ure out  how  the  tin  powder  cup,  which  goes  into  the  pow- 
der pocket  underneath  the  steel  disk,  can  be  introduced  af- 


Lead  Balls  Embedded  in  Kosin 

The  Government  is  particular  to  have  each  shell  in- 
scribed with  the  date  of  manufacture  and  the  initials  of 
the  plant  in  which  it  was  made.  This  is  done  upon  the 
side  or  body  of  the  shell,  and  for  this  purpose  the  Inger- 
soll-Eand  Co.  has  pressed  into  use  the  inscription-rolling 
machine  with  which  they  formerly  marked  the  barrels  of 
their  pneumatic  hammers.  That  it  is  well  adapted  for 
this  purpose  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  man  who  op- 
erates it  is  also  able  to  take  care  of  inserting  the  tin  pow- 
der cups  and  of  screwing  the  brass  powder  tubes  into  the 


Fig.   23.     Beaming  the  Powder  Tubes 


Fig.  25.     Drying  Backs  for  Painted  Shells 


Fig.  24.    Improvised  Painting  Machines 

ter  this  disk  is  within  the  shell.  The  man  who  is  doing 
rhis  work  does  not  seem  to  find  it  difficult.  Proportions 
and  dimensions  are  so  figured  that  a  dexterous  movement 
causes  the  steel  disk  to  turn  a  somersault,  carrying  the  tin 
powder  cup  with  it  to  its  correct  position.  The  powder 
cup  is,  of  course,  empty.  Later  on,  but  not  at  this  plant, 
it  is  to  be  filled  with  the  explosive  charge  which  will  cause 
the  shell  to  burst.  The  brass  powder  tube  makes  this 
possible  by  keeping  a  source  of  communication  open  be- 
tween the  fuse  socket  and  the  tin  powder  cup. 


Fig.  26.    The  Shipping  Boxes 


disks  after  the  latter  have  been  driven  home  with  blows  of 
a  hammer. 

One  who  might  anticipate  difficulty  in  getting  a  full 
measure  of  peas  or  potatoes  on  account  of  their  not 
settling  to  the  bottom  of  the  receptacle,  would  not  expect 
to  encounter  similar  trouble  in  connection  with  shot.  But 
it  exists,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  necessary  to  do  one  of 
two  things  to  get  the  required  number  of  balls  in  a  shrap- 
nel shell — either  put  them  in  under  pressure  or  jar  them 
down  by  vibration.  The  latter  plan  has  been  adopted  as 
cheaper,  and  a  molding  machine  vibrator  has  been  "bor- 


[34] 


rowed"  for  this  purpose  and  attached  to  a  small  round  table 
upon  which  the  shells  are  placed  while  being  filled  from 
the  shot  box.  The  funnel  which  is  used  to  introduce  the 
shot  has  a  central  boss  with  a  hole  in  it  that  serves  the 
purpose  of  centering  the  free  end  of  the  brass  powder 
tube.    The  man  who  fills  the  shells  with  shot  must  also 

give  them  a  preliminary 
weighing  to  be  sure  that  he 
has  introduced  a  sufficient 
number. 

One  Keason  for  the  Kosin 

If  one  tries  to  imagine  the 
action  of  a  rapidly  rotating 
hollow  shell  filled  with  round 
balls  of  such  a  heavy  ma- 
terial as  lead,  one  can  see  a 
very  good  reason  for  cement- 
ing the  shell  and  its  contents 
into  one  solid  mass  by  means 
of  rosin.  If  i  they  were  not 
held  homogeneously  by  some 
such  material  as  this,  the 
shell  would  perform  very  pe- 
culiar actions  during  its 
flight  very  similar  to  those  of 
a  "loaded"  ball  on  a  bowling 
alley.  Another  reason  for  fill- 
ing up  the  air  spaces  between 
the  balls  is  that  it  gives  the 
explosive  charge  less  room  to 
expand  and  therefore  bursts 
the  shell  with  greater  force. 
The  men  who  fill  the  shells  with  rosin  also  take  care  of 
the  final  weighing.  They  are  allowed  to  make  up  the 
weight  of  one  y2-m.  ball  by  means  of  bucketshot;  this 
giving  them  a  slight  margin  whereby  they  can  correct 


Fig.  27.  A  350-Lb.  Can- 
adian, and  2  British 

18  Pounders 


OPERATION   15.   FIT   DOG  AND   PLUG-CENTER   FOR 
GRINDERS — REMOVE  DOG  AND  PLUG-CENTER 

Equipment   Used — Hinged   chuck   used   as   vise. 
Production — Two  men,   60   per  hour.  ' 
Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.   14. 

variations  in  the  weight  of  the  metal  parts.  This  weigh- 
ing must  be  done  in  a  hurry,  for  the  shell  must  be  handed 
to  another  operator  who  screws  home  the  fuse  socket  be- 
fore the  rosin  sets. 

Extreme  uniformity  of  weight  is  very  necessary  in  these 


shells.  .  The  fuse,  which  will  be  added  before  the  shells 
are  fired,  is  graduated  in  Ve-sec.  divisions,  each  of  which 
corresponds  to  approximately  50  yd.,  becoming  less,  of 
course,  as  the  shell  nears  the  end  of  its  flight.  Therefore, 
to  make  range-finding  possible,  the  action  of  shells  of  the 
same  caliber  must  be  very  similar.     A  slight  difference 


OPERATION  17.    GRIND  BODY 

Machines  Used — Norton  and  Landis  plain   grinders. 

Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Driving  dog  and  plug-center 
(see   operation   15). 

Gage — Micrometer. 

Production — One    operator    and    one    machine,    20    per    hour. 

Note — Wheel  and  work  speed,  and  composition  of  wheel, 
same  as  in  operation  16.  Wheel  maintenance  averages 
lc.    per   shell.      Power   required   averages   30   hp. 

Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.  16. 

of  weight  would  be  fatal  to  accuracy.  The  total  allow- 
ance is  plus  or  minus  4*4  drams,  making  a  total  toler- 
ance of  a  little  over  y2  oz-  on  a  weight  of  18  pounds. 

Soldebing  60  Tubes  an  Hour 

One  of  the  busiest  men  in  the  plant  may  be  seen  in 
Pig.  21.  He  is  soldering  the  powder  tubes  as  described  in 
operation  26.  The  tubes  must  be  soldered  fast  to  the  fuse 
sockets,  and  he  does  this  by  placing  the  shells  one  at  a 


Si 


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DETAIL  OF  WHEEL- 

WtiB I NG  DEVICE 


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OPERATION  16.    GRIND  NOSE 

Machines   Used — Norton    and   Landis   plain    grinders. 

Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Wheel-truing  device,  A;  driving 
dog  and   center-plug    (see   operation   15). 

Gages — Profile  gage  for  nose,  B;  micrometer  for  large 
diameter. 

Production — One   operator   and   one   machine,   40   per   hour. 

Note — Grinding  wheel  used  is  crystolon,  grade  L,  in  a  grain 
mixture  of  $  each  24-36  and  46.  The  output  per  wheel 
varies  between  3200  to  9800  shells.  The  frequency  of 
wheel  dressing  is  once  per  10  to  30  shells,  with  a  max- 
imum of  1  in  3  and  a  minimum  of  1  in  78   shells. 

Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.  15. 


[35] 


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OPERATION    18.     SHOP    INSPECTION 

Special  Fixture — Holder  for  shell  for  gaging  wall  thick- 
ness,  A. 

Gages — Micrometer  for  wall  thickness,  B;  for  wall  thick- 
ness, C;  for  wall  thickness,  D;  for  ±  overall  length,  E; 
for  thread  in  nose;  for  ±  diameter  of  base,  G;  for 
±  diameter  at  shoulder,  H;  for  ±  body  diameter,  Ij 
for  ±  diameter  over  waves,  J;  for  nose  profile,  K;  for 
depth  of  nose  recess,  L;  for  ±  diameter  of  bottom  of 
wave   recess,   M.      Total   of   17   gaging   operations. 

Production — Sixty   shells   per   hour   for   two   men. 

Reference — See   halftone,   Fig.    17. 

OPERATION    19.     FIRST    GOVERNMENT    INSPECTION 
(Not  illustrated) 
Gages — Similar  to  those  shown  in  operations  8  and  18. 
Production — Six  government  inspectors  take  care  of  both  the 
first  and  final  inspection   of  600  shells  per  day. 


time  upon  the  rotating  ball-bearing  table,  placing  a  solder 
ring  over  the  outside  of  the  tube  where  it  projects  through 
the  fuse  socket,  and  then  completing  the  operation  by  hold- 
ing the  point  of  an  electric  soldering  iron  within  the  tube 
and  spinning  it  around  by  hand  until  the  solder  melts. 
Such  simple  helps  as  the  ball-bearing  table  and  the  solder 
rings  make  this  remarkable  production  time  a  possibility. 
The  last  machine  operation,  shown  in  diagram  in  op- 
eration 27,  is  to  finish  the  protruding  part  of  the  fuse 
socket  and  to  face  the  powder  tube  and  surplus  solder. 
Sometimes  is  is  necessary  to  clean  out  and  ream  the  pow- 
der tubes  with  an  air  drill  and  reamer,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
23;  if  not,  the  shells  go  direct  to  a  final  inspection  after 
the  brass  plug  has  been  inserted  in  the  fuse  socket  and 
fastened  with  a  grub  screw. 

Painting  with  Bolt  Thread-Cutting  Machines 

To  facilitate  painting  by  means  of  bolt  thread-cutting 
machines,  seems  like  a  far-fetched  step;  nevertheless  the 
modified  bolt  cutters  which  rotate  the  shells  between  spring 
cup  centers  assist  materially  in  getting  out  the  large  daily 
product  at  small  labor  cost.  One  of  these  machines  is 
used  for  priming  the  shells,  and  the  other,  for  applying 
the  finishing  coat.     Both  of  them  are  shown  in  Fig.  24. 

The  shipping  boxes  which  are  used  to  inclose  the  shells 
in  their  journey  across  the  water  are  shown  in  Fig.  26.  It 
will  be  noted  that  there  is  nothing  cheap  about  them,  26 
wood  screws  and  two  spliced  ropes  being  used  on  each  one, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  iron  braces.  When  one  considers 
that  two  modern  field  pieces  without  really  over-exerting 
themselves,  can  use  up  shells  as  fast  as  they  can  be  pro- 
duced in  a  factory  of  the  size  described,  one  begins  to 
get  a  slight  appreciation  of  the  amount  of  money  that  is 
at  present  going  up  in  smoke.  And  such  consideration 
lends  emphasis  to  the  statement  recently  credited  to  a 
British  commander,  that  the  present  need  is  "ammuni- 
tion, more  ammunition,  and  yet  more  ammunition." 

The  tremendous  mental  and  physical  efforts  put  forth 
to  furnish  this  enormous  supply  can  be  dimly  realized 
when  we  think  that  this  long  article  has  described  the 
methods  of  only  one  shop  out  of  130  in  only  one  colonial 
possession  of  one  of  the  seven  warring  nations. 


OPERATION  20.    CUT  NOTCH  TO  PERMIT  AIR  TO  ESCAPE 

BETWEEN     WAVES,      FIT     COPPER     DRIVING     BAND 

AND    CRIMP    BAND    IN    BAND-CRIMPING    PRESS 

Equipment   Used — Special   pneumatic   crimping   press,   A. 

Product! on— One   machine   and   two   operators    (double   shift), 

30   shells   per   hour. 
Notes — This    press    was    designed    and    constructed    at    the 
Canadian     Ingersoll-Rand     shops.       The     copper     drive 


bands   must   be   annealed   dead   soft. 
Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.  18. 


[36] 


OPERATION  21.    TURN  AND  FORM  DRIVE  BAND 
Machines  Used — Brass  lathes  and  engine  lathes  with   special 

forming  slides. 
Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Draw-in  collet-chuck,  A,  and  spe- 
cial  forming   slide,   B.      Cutting   tools:   Width   tool,   CI; 
rough  turning  tool,  C2;  finish  forming  tool,  C3. 
Gages — For  height  of  radius  from  base,  D;  for  form  of  band, 


E;  for  ±  diameter  at  F,  F;  for  ±  diameter  at  G,  G; 
for    ±  diameter   at   H,   H;   for    ±  diameter   at   I,   I. 

Production — From  one  machine  and  one  operator,  15  per 
hour. 

Note — Previous  to  using  the  rear  forming  slide  for  finishing, 
the  shell  became  so  hot  that  it  was  necessary  to  fill  it 
with  soda  water  and  plug  the  end  before  this  opera- 
tion. 


OPERATION    22.     STAMP    SHELL    WITH    INSCRIPTION,    IN- 
SERT    TIN    POWDER     CUP,     DRIVE     DISK     HOME, 
AND  INSERT  BRASS  POWDER  TUBE 

Equipment  Used — Rolling   press   for   mscr'ption,  A. 

Production — One   man,   40    per   hour. 

Note — Tin  powder  cup  shown  at  B  in  halnone,  Fig.  13;  brass 

powder    tube    shown    at    A    in    halftone.    Fig.    13;    steel 

disk  shown  at  D  in  halftone,  Fig.  13. 
Note  also  the  method  of  nesting  the  powder  cup  and  disk 
seat  when  they  are  inserted. 


OPERATION    23.     FILL    WITH    BALLS,    JAR    DOWN    ON 
VIBRATOR  AND  WEIGH 

Equipment  Used — Shot  box  with  self-measuring  hopper.  A; 
vibrator  table,  B;  scales,  C;  shot  funnel  for  centering 
powder   tube,   D. 

Production — One   man,   50   per   hour. 

Note — The  necessity  for  shaking  down  on  the  vibrator  de- 
pends on  the  roughness  of  the  shot  used.  The  vibrator 
is   "borrowed"   from   a   molding   machine. 

Reference — See  halftone,  Fig.  20.  Shot  shown  at  C  in  half- 
tone. Fie.   13. 


[37] 


OPERATION    24.     FILL   WITH    ROSIN   AND    WEIGH 

Equipment   Used — Electric   rosin   pot,   A;    scales,   B. 

Production — Two  men  and  two  rosin  pots,  60  shells  per  hour. 

Note — The  rosin  must  be  heated  between  360  deg.  to  400  deg., 
to  fill  the  shell  properly.  The  curent  consumption  of 
each  pot  is  2%  kw.,  11  oz.  10%  drams  of  rosin  are 
required  per  shell.  Exact  weight  is  made  with  buck- 
shot. 

Keference — See   halftone,   Fig.    20. 


OPERATION   25.    SCREW   IN  FUSE   SOCKET 

Equipment   Used- — Special    hinged    chuck,    as    vise,    A;    special 

tongs   used   as   a   wrench,   B. 
Production — One   man,   60    per   hour. 
Reference — See    halftone,    Fig.    20.      Fuse    socket   shown   at    E 

in   halftone,   Fig.   13. 


OPERATION    27.      TURN,    FACE    AND    UNDERCUT    FUSE 
SOCKET,  FACE  CENTRAL  POWDER  TUBE 

Machines   Used — Brass   turrets   and   modified   engine   lathes. 

Special  Fixtures  and  Tools — Special  split  collet  chuck  with 
scroll  ring,  A.  Cutting  tools:  Facing  and  recessing 
tool,  Bl;  rough  turning  tool,  B2;  forming  tool,  B3; 
forming   tool,   B4. 

Gages — Profile  template,  C;  limit  bevel  gage,  D;  nose  under- 
cut   limit    gage,    E. 

Production — One   man   and   one   machine,   10   per   hour. 

Reference — See   halftone,   Fig.   22. 


TIgffl'B 


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OPERATION    26.     SOLDER    POWDER    TUBE    INTO   FUSE 
SOCKET 

Equipment  Used — Special  ball-bearing  table  for  rotating 
shell,   A;   electric   soldering   iron,   B;   solder   rings,   C. 

Production — One   man,    50   to    60   shells    per   hour. 

Note — This  remarkably  high  production  rate  has  been  main- 
tained   for   several   months. 

Reference — See   halftone,    Fig.    21. 


OPERATION   28.     CLEAN   OUT   AND   REAM   POWDER   TUBE 
(IF   NECESSARY)    AND   INSPECT 

Equipment    Used — Air     drills     driving     reamers.    A;     special 

equalizing   clamp,   B. 
Gages — Fuse    socket    gages    as    described    for    operation     27. 

Drive   band   gages   as   described   for   operation   21. 
Production — Twenty    per    hour    per    man. 
Reference — See  halftone,   Fig.   23. 


[38] 


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■      ■■.-. 


OPERATION    29.      INSERT    FUSE-HOLD    PLUG    AND    GRUB- 
SCREW 

Equipment    Used — Special    vise,    similar    to    those    shown    In 

operation  25. 
Production — One  man,  50  per  hour. 
Note — The   fuse-hole   plug   is   a   brass  protecting   plug   and   is 

removed  when  the  fuse  itself  is  attached. 
Reference — See  halftone.  Fig.  20. 

OPERATION   30.      FINAL  GOVERNMENT   INSPECTION 
(Not  illustrated.) 


OPERATION  31. 


PRIME  AND   PAINT 

threaders,    A; 


spring 


Equipment    Used — Reconstructed    bolt 

cup  centers,  B;  drying  racks,  C. 
Production — Four   men;   prime,   paint  and  stack   60   shells  pev 

hour. 
Note — Shells  are  left  to  dry  24  hr.  between  primer  and  finish 

coat.     Steel  work  is  finished  in  naval  gray,  copper  parts 

are  finshed  with  red  lead. 
Reference — For  painting  machines,  see  halftone,  Fig.  24.    For 

drying  racks,  see  halftone,  Fig.  25. 

■ 

Mo  Discrimination 

An  opinion  has  been  expressed  in  Germany  that  Amer- 
ican machine-tool  builders  are,  as  a  whole,  in  sympathy 
with  the  Allies  and  that,  as  a  result,  England,  France 
and  Eussia  are  well  supplied  with  American  machinery, 
while  Germany  is  forced  to  go  without  it. 

There  is  a  half-truth  here  which  has  led  to  this  belief. 
Very  few  machine  tools  are  finding  their  way  from  this 
country  into  Germany.  But  this  is  not  the  fault  of  the 
American  machine-tool  builders,  of  whom  probably  one- 
third  are  of  German  descent. 

The  reason  for  this  apparent  discrimination,  which  may 
seem  like  a  breach  of  neutrality,  can  be  inferred  from  the 
answer  given  us  by  the  commercial  department  of  the 
German  Consulate  at  New  York  when  we  inquired  how 
American  manufacturers  could  ship  their  products  to  Ger- 
many. 

"We  are  sorry,  but  we  are  not  able  to  tell  you.  Ship- 
ing  direct  is  at  present  out  of  the  question.     It  is  pos- 


OPERATION  32.   BOX  FOR  SHIPMENT 

Note — Six  shells  are  placed  in  each  box. 
Reference — See  halftone.  Fig.  26. 

sible  that  small  numbers  of  machine  tools  are  finding 
their  way  into  Germany  through  neutral  nations." 

When  our  informants  in  their  position  of  knowledge 
cannot  state  how  machinery  may  be  shipped  to  their 
country,  it  is  hardly  fair  to  expect  the  American  manu- 
facturer to  solve  the  problem.  The  reexportation  of  these 
goods  from  neutral  countries  is  a  very  difficult  thing  at 
present,  and  is  reflected  in  the  requirements  of  steamship 
companies  that  act  as  carriers  to  the  neutral  countries 
bordering  Germany  or  Austria. 

The  Italian  lines,  before  Italy's  entrance  into  the  war, 
refused  to  accept  any  shipments  of  machinery  except  such 
as  were  accompanied  by  a  sworn  statement  naming  the 
consignee,  who  must  be  an  Italian.  The  reexportation  of 
this  class  of  material  is  not  recognized.  The  Holland- 
American  Line  accepts  shipments  of  machine  tools  and 
other  machinery  for  reexportation  only  after  a  sworn 
manifest  has  been  forwarded  to  Rotterdam  and  has  been 
viseed  by  the  British  Consul  General.  The  goods  are  held 
in  this  country  in  the  meantime  awaiting  cable  advise  that 
shipment  is  permitted.  The  Scandinavian-American  Line 
will  accept  no  assignment  of  machinery  for  reexportation 
from  their  country,  and  shipments  to  Scandinavia  must  be 
accompanied  by  certificates  identifying  the  consignee. 
The  Norwegian-American  Line  accepts  machinery  con- 
signed to  a  definite  consignee  and  does  not  require  a  dec- 
laration, but  it  does  not  accept  goods  for  reexportation 
to  Germany. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  easy  for  American  shippers 
to  forward  goods  to  Great  Britain,  France,  or  Eussia. 
The  English  lines  accept  shipments  of  all  kinds — contra- 
band, conditional  and  otherwise — for  delivery  to  points 
within  Great  Britain  without  any  unusual  formalities  on 
the  part  of  the  shipper.  Goods  which  are  carried  by 
English  steamship  lines  for  reexportation  to  neutral  coun- 
tries must  be  accompanied  by  sworn  certificates  showing 
their  destination  and  use.  Naturally,  they  do  not  carry 
freight  for  Germany. 


[39] 


Editorial  Correspondence 


SYNOPSIS — This  article  describes  the  process  of 
machining  shrapnel  cases  on  a  double-spindle  flat- 
turret  lathe  as  practiced  in  the  western  part  of  On- 
tario, Canada.  One  of  the  features  of  the  tool  set- 
up as  observed  in  this  shop  is  a  combination  inter- 
nal-and- external  chuck  which  assures  plenty  of 
driving  power. 

One  of  the  peculiar  things  about  modern  warfare  is  the 
number  of  men  that  are  required  to  keep  one  field  piece 
of  even  moderate  size  in  operation.  It  takes  not  only  a 
man  behind  the  gun  but  it  requires  an  almost  unbelieve- 
able  number  of  men  behind  each  gunner  to  keep  him  sup- 
plied with  ammunition.  Therefore,  one  finds  almost 
every  conceivable  type  of  machine  tool  from  automatic 
machines  to  bolt  cutters  pressed  into  service  to  meet 
the  constant  demand  for  projectiles.  Even  millers  are 
being  used  for  boring  and  turning  the  15-  and  18-lb. 
British  shells,  although  they  are  among  the  last  machines 
that  one  would  imagine  adaptable  for  this  purpose. 

In  another  article  in  this  reprint  will  be  found  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  Jones  &  Lamson  single-spindle  flat-turret  lathe 
engaged  in  turning  out  shells.  Those  manufacturers  in 
Canada  who  had  flat  turrets  of  the  double-spindle  type 
already  installed  in  their  plants  lost  no  time  in  fitting 
them  up  with  the  necessary  tool  equipment  required  for 
shrapnel-case  work. 

In  the  plant  where  the  machine  mentioned  was  ob- 


ing,  it  was  necessary  to  make  provision  so  that  the  align- 
ment of  the  work  should  be  determined  by  the  inside 
chucking  and  gripped  by  the  exterior  chuck  jaws  simply 
in  conformity  to  this.  This  was  accomplished  by  cutting 
away  the  scroll  support  of  the  chuck  so  that  in  reality  it 
forms  a  floating  scroll  ring,  permitting  the  jaws  to  ac- 
commodate themselves  to  the  work  as  chucked  on  the  in- 
ternal arbor  but  retaining  the  function  of  closing  to- 
gether when  the  scroll  is  turned.  Fig.  1  shows  this  chuck. 
The  sequence  of  operations  on  the  two-spindle  machine 


Fig.  1.     The  Double  Gripping  Chuck 


Fig.  3.   Tools  for  Bough-Turning  the  Shell 

served,  it  had  been  fitted  with  a  chuck  of  novel  design. 
Ordinarily,  for  the  first  operation,  the  shells  are  gripped 
on  the  inside  by  means  of  an  expanding  arbor.  In  this 
case,  almost  unlimited  additional  driving  power  was  se- 
cured by  the  use  of  a  three-jaw  exterior-gripping  chuck. 
Since  the  thickness  of  the  shell  varies  in  the  rough  forg- 


Fig.  4.     The  Forming  and  Facing  Tools 

is  quite  similar  to  that  described  for  the  single-spindle. 
The  following  is  a  schedule  of  these  operations: 

First  Operation:  1.  Bough-turn  the  outside  diameter 
of  shell  body.  2.  Form  the  recess  and  shape  the  base  end 
of  the  shell.  3.  Form  the  waves.  4.  Undercut  the  recess 
for  the  drive  band. 


[40] 


Second  Operation:  1.  Rough-bore  the  powder  pocket 
and  turn  tlic  nose-end  taper  for  bottling.  2.  Rough-bore 
(lie  disk  seat.  3.  Finish-bore  the  powder  pocket.  4.  Fin- 
ish-bore the  disk  scat. 

Third  0 iteration  •  1.  Bore  the  nose  for  its  tap  hole 
and  rough-turn  the  nose  profile.  3.  Face  the  end  and 
rough-form  the  inside  of  the  nose.  3.  Finish-face  the 
end  and  finish-form  the  inside  of  the  nose.  4.  Tap  with 
a  collapsible  tap. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  operations  do  not 
occur  in  sequence  upon  the  shell,  then*  being  a  gap  be- 


tween the  second  and  third  operations  during  which  tht 
shell  is  heat-treated,  the  disk  is  inserted  and  the  nose  end 
is  bottled. 

The  double-spindle  flat-turret  operations  are  shown  in) 
diagram  in  Fig.  2,  which  also  represent  the  tool  set-up 
as  observed  in  this  plant.  An  interesting  featur?  of 
the  third  operation  is  the  attempt  to  finish  the  inside 
of  the  nose  by  means  of  circular  forming  tools.  While 
this  method  looks  very  promising,  it  has  been  in  use  for 
such  a  short  time  at  this  writing,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
say  whether  or  not  it  will  be  entirely  successful.     The 


Bore 

on 
Machine 


\ — i, 
< ti 

l _,* 

3*°ope:ratioh 


Fig.  2.    Flat-Turret  Operations  on  the  18-Lb.  British  Shrapnel 

[41] 


thickness  of  the  shell  wall  just  below  the  threaded  end  of 
the  nose  is  one  of  the  most  particular  parts  of  the  entire 
shell,  practically  no  variation  from  the  stated  thickness 
of  one  tenth  of  an  inch  being  allowed  at  this  point. 

Some  of  the  tool  set-ups  as  observed  in  this  plant  are 
shown  in  Pigs.  3  to  6.  Eough-turning  the  shell  is  cared 
for  as  indicated  in  Fig.  3.  The  recess  is  formed  and  the 
end  of  the  shell  is  faced  with  the  tool  set-up  illustrated  in 


ords  of  having  shot  2000  shells  in  a  single  day.  At  the 
first  of  this  year,  the  French  government  was  just  com- 
pleting its  equipment  to  produce  200,000  explosive  shells 
per  day.  A  plant  now  under  construction  in  Paris  is  to 
have  a  capacity  of  fifteen  thousand  75-mm.  shrapnel  shells 
per  day.  At  the  rate  mentioned,  eight  of  the  French  75- 
mm.  guns  could  fire  all  the  shells  produced  by  a  factory 
employing  say  4000  to  5000  men. 


Fig.  5.    The  Waving  Tools 

Fig.  4.  The  waves  are  cut  with  a  pair  of  waving  tools 
similar  to  that  used  in  the  single-spindle  machine  and 
illustrated  in  Fig.  5.  The  undercutting  of  the  recess  is 
done  with  tool  blocks  and  tools  arranged  as  in  Fig.  6. 
The  production  of  cases  on  the  double-spindle  machine 
runs  about  60  per  cent,  greater  than  for  the  same  set-up 
on  the  single-spindle.  Eight  shells  per  hour  are  consid- 
ered in  this  plant  an  average  output  for  two  double-spin- 
dle flat  turrets,  including  all  three  operations. 

■ 

Desmi&imdls    of    War  oia    liradl^s^ir^ 

A  few  facts  are  being  set  before  us,  which  give  a  hint 
of  the  tremendous  demand  that  war  makes  upon  the  pro- 
ducing capacity  of  a  nation. 

A  French  engineer  reports  that  he  has  seen  carload 
after  carload  of  rifles  going  back  from  the  fighting  front 
in  France  for  repairs,  and  has  said  that  it  is  estimated 
that  every  soldier  actively  engaged  will  require  ten  rifles 
a  year.  Of  course,  many  of  those  returned  are  repaired 
and  sent  back  into  service.  Eecords  from  the  maneuvers 
of  some  of  our  state  militia  show  a  loss  of  10  per  cent,  of 
the  rifles  issued  during  a  10  or  12  days'  encampment.  If 
the  loss  is  as  great  as  this  in  a  few  days  of  training,  what 
must  it  be  in  weeks  of  active  fighting  ? 

Based  on  the  known  production  of  the  United  States  Ar- 
senals a  factory  capable  of  producing  100,000  rifle  cart- 
ridges a  day  is  required  to  supply  a  single  regiment  of 
1000  men  with  the  service  number  of  100  cartridges  each. 
In  action,  all  these  might  be  used  in  aimed  shots  in  20 
minutes. 

Turning  to  shells  for  the  larger  guns,  it  is  said  that  the 
French  fired  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  75-mm.  shells 
in  the  battle  of  the  Marne.  Their  75-mm.  guns  can  shoot 
16  shells  per  minute,  and  there  are  guns  which  have  rec- 


Fig.   6.     Tools   foe  Undeecutting  the  Eecess 

These  figures  apply  solely  to  ammunition  and  do  not 
hint  at  the  enormous  supplies  of  other  army  materials. 

When  measured  in  labor  hours,  these  figures  are  as- 
tounding and  beyond  our  mental  realization.  But  they 
do  give  us  a  hint  as  to  the  tremendous  strain  upon  the 
manufacturing  equipment  of  the  countries  now  producing 
war  material.  They  also  show  the  sound  sense  behind  the 
action  of  the  last  United  States  Congress  authorizing  the 
development  by  the  War  Department  of  a  corps  of  civilian 
engineers,  a  part  of  whose  duties  will  be  the  production  of 
ammunition  and  war  material,  if  this  country  ever  faces 
war. 

Much  has  been  written  in  the  daily  press  in  regard  to 
the  enormous  amount  of  ammunition,  explosives  and  guns 
that  has  been  shipped  from  this  country  to  Europe.  These 
statements,  and  the  arguments  based  on  them,  lose  much 
of  their  force  when  we  glance  at  the  actual  facts. 

Comparatively  speaking  only  a  small  amount  of  war 
munitions  has  been  shipped  from  the  United  States  dur- 
ing the  nine  months'  period — July  1,  1914,  to  Apr.  1, 
1915.  The  total  value  of  these  shipments  is  $21,980,371 
from  official  United  States  Government  statistics. 

The  totals  of  general  classes  that  go  to  make  up  this 
amount  are  as  follows:  Fire-arms,  $6,994,165;  cart- 
ridges, $9,570,077;  other  explosives,  $5,416,139. 

According  to  customs  classification,  loaded  shrapnel 
is  classed  as  explosives  and  unloaded  sharpnel  as  "all  other 
manufactures  of  iron  and  steel."  The  amount  of  shrap- 
nel included  in  the  last  item  cannot  be  separated.  But 
it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  total  of  this  classifica- 
tion for  the  first  nine  months  of  the  present  fiscal  year  is 
considerably  lower  than  for  the  corresponding  periods 
of  1913  and  1914.  The  totals  are  as  follows :  1913,  $15,- 
020,000;  1914,  $13,558,000;  1915,  $11,068,000. 


142] 


A  Bridge  Slhop  Trs\misf©rinniedl  iimto  sum 

Arseimal 


Editorial  Coeeespondence 


SYNOPSIS— The  Dominion  Bridge  Co.  of  Mon- 
treal, Canada,  has  devoted  one  department  in  its 
large  plant  to  the  production  of  15-  and  18-lb. 
British  shrapnel.  The  tool  equipment  was  pur- 
chased solely  with  a  view  of  handling  this  work 
effectively,  and  the  arrangement  of  machines  in 
the  shop  was  made  with  the  same  end  in  view. 
Jones  &  Lamson  flat-turret  lathes  are  used  for 
the  principal  operations,  and  their  tooling  and  ac- 
tion are  described  in  this  article. 

Among  the  many  shops  in  Canada  which  are  at  pres- 
ent engaged  in  turning  out  shrapnel  shells,  the  Dominion 
Bridge  Co.  occupies  an  interesting  and  unique  position. 
The  entire  arrangement  of  the  department  which  they 
have  devoted  to  this  work  has  been  made  with  the  idea 
of  turning  out  shells  rapidly  and  accurately  with  as  little 
back  tracking  and  lost  motion  as  possible.  It  is  quite  a 
radical  departure  to  jump  from  the  production  of  bridges 
and  bridge  girders  to  the  manufacture  of  shrapnel  cases, 
with  their  close  limits,  and  it  is  rather  remarkable  that 
such  a  metamorphosis  could  have  been  perfected  within 
a  few  months. 

m 


The  G-eneeal  Aebangement  of  Machines 

The  general  arrangement  of  the  machines  in  the  shell 
department  is  indicated  in  Fig.  1.  There  are  24  Jones 
&  Lamson  flat  turrets  arranged  to  take  care  of  the  princi- 
pal operations.     These  machines  comprise  the  most  in- 


Fig.  2.    The  Eough  Shell  (Aftee  End  Is  Cut  Off) 
and  the  Theee  Flat-Turret  Operations 


Fig.  1. 


Circulating-  'Air  Compressor 

Pump  r 

General  Arrangement  of  Dominion  Bridge  Co.'s  Plant 


Fig.  3.    Details  of  the  Centering  Mandrel 
[43] 


teresting  part  of  the  tool  equipment,  and  it  is  with  them 
that  this  article  will  largely  deal. 

A  resume  of  the  general  course  of  work,  from  the 
rough  forging  to  the  finished  shell,  may,  however,  help 
to  make  clear  the  flat-turret  operations.  The  system  can 
readily  be  followed  by  means  of  the  diagram  of  plant  ar- 
rangement shown  in  Pig.  1. 

The  shells  are  first  cut  off  and  rough-faced  on  impro- 
vised eutting-off  machines,  which  formerly  served  in  the 
capacity  of  thread  cutters.  They  next  go  to  the  first-oper- 
ation flat  turrets,  where  the  work  on  the  outside  of  the 
case  is  cared  for;  then  to  the  battery  of  second-operation 
machines,  where  they  are  bored.  After  this  the  shells  are 
taken  to  an  inspection  table,  where  they  are  given  a  pre- 
liminary inspection  before  heat-treating  so  that  defective 
shells  may  be  discarded  without  incurring  further  ex- 
pense. 

The  next  operation  is  the  heat  treatment,  gas  furnaces 
being  used  for  the  purpose.  This  is  somewhat  outside  of 
customary  practice,  but  it  leaves  the  shell  in  first-rate 


condition  with  very  little  scale.  The  hardening  tanks 
contain  whale  oil,  which  is  circulated  and  cooled  in  coils 
running  through   inclosing   water  tanks.     In   addition 


Spring 


Tool     ..Holder 


\\\    Tool  Bar 
Oscillating 


Cam 


Roller 


Fig.  7.    The  Waving  Tool  and  Holder 


.^SaV  Finish  Bore 
"    Disk  Seat 


j]  Finish 
jjji  bore 
■.-.-.-.-.-:.-iir--==^.J  Powder 
Pocket- 


bore,  Turn,  Form 
'  and  Face  Nose 


Operations  in  Making  18-Lb.  British  Shrapnel  Cases 

[44] 


Fig.  8,     The  Set-up  fob  the  First-Operation  on  the 
Flat-Turret  Lathe 


to  this  it  is  found  necessary  to  agitate  the  oil  by  means 
of  compressed-air  jets. 

Following  this  heat  treatment,  the  noses  of  the  shells 
are  brought  to  a  low  red-heat  by  immersion  in  a  lead  pot, 
after  which  they  are  "bottled"  under  a  punch  press.  The. 
chill  produced  by  this  process  is  removed  by  annealing, 
after  which  the  shells  go  to  the  sandblast  room,  where 
the  recess  which  contains  the  "wave"  is  cleaned  out. 

Next  comes  the  third  flat-turret  operation,  in  which 
the  inside  and  outside  of  the  nose  are  machined.  From 
here  the  shells  go  either  to  grinders  or  to  body-finishing 
lathes — both  processes  being  employed  at  present — where 
the  outside  and  the  curved  nose  of  the  shell  are  brought  to 
the  correct  finished  sizes.  The  copper  driving  bands  are 
next  fitted  and  squeezed,  after  which 
the  sheila  proceed  to  the  band-turning 
lathes,  from  there  going  to  the  filling 
department,  where  they  are  filled  with 
shot  and  rosin  and  have  the  fuse  socket 
screwed  home. 

The  next  operation  is  finishing  the 
socket,  which  is  cared  for  on  brass-fin- 
ishing turret  lathes.  Next  comes  the 
final  inspection,  after  which  the  shells 
are  painted  and  shipped. 

The  Flat-Turret  Operations 

An  inspection  of  Fig.  2  shows  the 
various  stages  of  the  shell  as  it  comes 
to  and  goes  from  the  flat-turret  lathes. 

At  A  is  the  rough  shell  with  its  end 
cut  off,  B  represents  the  completion 
of  the  first  operation,  C  shows  the 
shell  bored  and  turned  taper,  and  D 
represents  the  completion  of  the  third 
flat-turret  operation,  in  which  the  in- 
side of  the  nose  is  completed  and  the 
outside  is  roughly  shaped. 

F.   C.   MacDonald,   plant  engineer, 


is  entitled  to  much  credit  for  the  in- 
genious tooling  of  these  turret  lathes. 
One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  is  to 
securely  grip  the  shell  internally  for 
the  first  operation.  Fig.  3  shows  the 
construction  of  the  driving  and  center- 
ing arbor  which  was  finally  devised  for 
this  purpose. 

A  Difficult  Operation  Handled 
Simply 
The  action  of  the  flat  turrets  may  be 
followed    very    readily    by    inspecting 
Figs.  1,  5  and  6,  in  which  the  successive 
operations  are  represented  by  diagrams. 
The  most  interesting  part  of  the  first 
operation  is  undoubtedly  the  forming 
of  the  waved  ribs.     An  idea  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  wave  may  be  had  from  Fig. 
10.     At   first   sight   this   looks   like   a 
difficult  operation,  but  it  resolves  itself 
finally   into   a   very   simple   one.     The 
construction  of  the  tool  used  for  this 
purpose  is  shown  in  Fig.  7.     It  oper- 
ates when  the  roller  is  forced  against 
a  wave  cam  mounted  upon  the  chuck 
of  the  machine.     An  idea  of  this  operation  is  conveyed 
from  Fig.  9,  which  shows  the  tool  in  position. 

The  second  operation  set-up  is  also  illustrated  in  Fig. 
11.  This  operation  roughs  and  finishes  the  powder  pocket 
and  disk  seat,  and  also  turns  the  outside  of  the  nose-end 
taper  for  purposes  of  bottling. 

Eein forced  Boring  Bars 

The  construction  of  the  boring  bars  is  rather  unique 
and  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  16.  It  will  be  noticed  that  a 
solid  bar  extends  clear  across  the  turret  through  two  tool 
holders,  thus  giving  an  extremely  strong  construction  as 
compared  with  the  ordinary  single  support.     The  other 


Fig.  9.     Cutting  the  Wave 


[45] 


two  bars  obtain  a  similar  support  by 
being  mortised  into  the  large  bar  at 
their  shank  ends. 

One  of  the  short  bars  used  for  this 
purpose  is  shown  at  A,  Fig.  15,  and 
at  B  and  C  finishing  cutters  for  the 
powder  pocket  and  disk  seat  are  shown. 
The  roughing  cutters  are  quite  similar, 
except  that  they  are  gashed  for  chip 
clearance. 

The  third  operation  on  the  flat  tur- 
rets is  possibly  the  most  interesting  one 
from  the  viewpoint  of  tooling.  The 
set-up  shown  at  A,  while  appearing  to 
be  rather  complicated,  works  out  well, 
the  curved  form  of  the  outside  being 
cared  for  by  a  modification  of  the 
usual  flat-turret  taper-turning  device. 

The  tool  block  used  for  this  opera- 
tion is  also  shown  in  Fig.  15,  the 
tools  being  similarly  lettered  in  Fig.  6 
for  purposes  of  comparison. 

The  method  of  compensating  those 
who  work  on  shrapnel  parts  is  entirely 
by  piecework.  In  addition  to  this  their  efforts  are  stim- 
ulated by  means  of  a  production  board  on  which  records 
of  the  best  runs  are  posted  daily.  A  facsimile  of  one 
day's  record  is  shown  in  Fig.  13.  In  the  right-hand 
column  of  this  figure  the  production  has  been  reduced 
to  a  rate  per  hour  for  convenience  in  comparison. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  figures  represent  best 
runs  and  that  the  average  production  is  somewhat  less. 
The  piece  prices  are  figured  so  that  it  is  possible  for  the 
operator  to  make  a  good  day's  pay,  and  the  stimulus  of 
this  possibility  is  manifested  in  the  feeds  and  speeds  of 
the  various  machines.  Critical  inspection  is  maintained 
after  each  few  operations  to  prevent  any  slighting  of  the 
work  which  would  result  in  the  rejection  of  the  shell  by 
the  government  inspecting  squad. 

At  present  the  Dominion  Bridge  Co.  is  using  both 
grinders  and  engine  lathes  for  finishing  the  body  and  nose 


Fig.  12. 


The  Third  Operation  on  the  Flat-Turret  : 
Turning  the  Nose 

of  the  shell.  The  method  of  grinding  the  body  and  nose 
will  be  fully  described  in  an  article  to  follow,  but  an  in- 
spection of  Fig.  14  will  give  an  idea  of  the  method  of 


Fig 


Fig.  11.    Boring  and  Turning  Taper. 
Flat-Turret  Operation 


The  Second 


Arrangement  for  Finish-Turning  the 
Case  on  an  Engine  Lathe 

doing  this  work  on  an  engine  lathe. 
The  template  A  is  made  with  the  ex- 
act shape  of  the  profile  of  the  projec- 
tile and  a  roller  on  the  cross-slide  is 
kept  against  this  by  means  of  a  weight, 
the  cross-feed  screw  being  disconnected 
and  tool  adjustment  made  with  the 
compound  rest.  After  being  annealed, 
the  shells  may  be  turned  at  a  speed 
of  from  40  to  50  ft.  per  min.  and  a 
feed  ranging  from  40  to  60  per  inch. 

A  Simple  Painting  Bench 
A  simple  and  effective  painting  bench 
is  used  in  this  plant  for  holding  the 
shells  while  applying  the  priming  and 
finishing  coats.  It  is  shown  in  Fig.  17 
and  consists  of  a  number  of  inclined 
spindles  of  such  size  that  the  powder 
tubes  of  the  assembled  shells  will  slip 
over  them.  The  painter  then  rotates  the 
shell  upon  the  spindle  with  one  hand 
while  applying  the  paint  brush  with  the 
other. 


[46] 


Summing  up  the  time  on  the  principal  operations  as 
represented  in  Fig.  13,  we  obtain  a  record  of  1.06  hours  re- 
quired for  the  production  of  one  shell.  This,  of  course,  is 
not  a  maintained  rate,  but  consists  in  the  average  of  best 


Fig.  10.    The  Wave 


PRODUCTION  BOARD 

DOMINION  BRIDGE  CO                 LACHINE, QUEBEC. 

RECORD  OF  BEST  RUN        FEB.  23?I9IS 

PRODUCTION 
OPERATION                    PIECES    HOURS    RATEPERHOUR 

tut 0^5.3)0.(1    VpwaEn  ) 

145 

llVfe 

12.6  ^ 

(ZOpwotou) 

2oi 

21 

1.«/ 

GuBiifcluAm  (Jv£.  *|  ) 

S°l 

10  vz 

5.M./ 

Jmudil&Ml   (Jv£    *Z  ) 

140 

II  Ve 

11.1/ 

t/ottwig.3wi 

88 

2. 

44  / 

ynojik. 

483 

io'4 

M6   / 

KanitM 

nz 

il 

34.7/ 

aSuubtlbU' 

362 

Ji'i 

44.7/ 

■JwrntlMi.      (J*<£   *3) 

140 

life 

11*/ 

3*mifi  Iumi 

101 

lO'/t 

<l:t  / 

(Paua  T^vnd 

430 

W'/z 

ii.ii/ 

<fww  ~tyamd 

225 

ID'/i 

11  f/ 

ttMvnMt 

402 

57 14. 

7    / 

djwntysttet 

2  11 

Ilfc 

18.4' 

(PcuAct 

3  3S 

18 

18.»" 

Fig.  13.     Diagram  of  the  Production  Board 


ki 

V     7-  nrsP 

K.  . 

"^i  ^   >  ■■  -,_- 

■"■•■■"■l       -111, 

Br* 

■■^•y  T'" 

1  "'                "m 

r  ^- 

^^Ljr-Tjt^f'^2 

p     ~ 

*«  r* 

^rC-*? 

Fig.  15.     Some  Interesting  Tools 


Fig.  16.    The  Reinforced  Boring  Bab 


Fig.  17.     The  Painting  Bench 

records  only.  Also,  it  omits  one  or  two  minor  operations, 
such  as  sandblasting,  annealing,  etc.;  neither  does  it  in- 
clude the  handling  time.  But  even  so  it  is  a  most  remark- 
able record  considering  the  short  time  in  which  the  bridge 
shop  was  transformed  into  an  arsenal. 


Maclhliaeff'^  Afffter  tlhe  Was* 

After  one  has  read  letters  and  articles,  dealing  with 
the  effects  of  the  present  war  on  German  industry,  it 
is  in  order  to  speculate  a  little  about  the  conditions  which 
will  exist  after  the  war  has  ended.  From  the  multi- 
tudinous and  conflicting  reports,  we  believe  we  are  justi- 
fied in  concluding  that  the  following  statements  are  facts : 

Many  shops  and  thousands  of  machines  have  been 
smashed  in  Eastern  France,  Belgium,  Russian  Poland, 
and  East  Prussia.  Automobiles  and  other  vehicles, 
railroad  rolling-stock  and  merchant  vessels,  are  being 
destroyed  and  worn  out  at  an  increasingly  rapid  rate. 
Much  of  the  machine-tool  equipment  of  Germany  will 
be  ready  for  the  scrap  heap  by  the  end  of  the  war.  The 
machine-tool  equipment  of  England,  France,  and  Russia 
is  now  working  twenty-four  hours  a  day  and  seven  days 
a  week,  which  means  rapid  wear.  If  our  information  is 
not  too  highly  colored,  much  of  this  will  be  worn  out 
when  the  war  ends.  The  shortage  of  skilled  labor  in  all 
the  warring  countries  must  mean  that  only  the  most 
urgent  machine  repairs  are  now  being  made.  This  is 
another  important  factor  in  machine  deterioration.  The 
scarcity  of  labor  is  shown  by  the  numerous  advertisements 
appearing  in  American  papers  for  skilled  workmen  to 
go  to  England  and  Scotland.  England  has  withdrawn 
skilled  recruits  from  the  army,  and  Germany  has  given 
skilled  mechanics  furloughs  to  permit  them  to  return  to 
their  shops  and  work. 

From  these  facts,  we  seem  justified  in  drawing  the 
conclusion  that  there  must  be  a  tremendous  period  of 
shop  rebuilding  and  machine  replacement  after  the  war 
ends.  When  this  period  comes,  American  engineers  and 
American  machinery-builders  will  be  called  upon  to  sup- 
ply much  of  this  new  machinery. 


[47] 


>teeE 


mth 


By  E.  A.  Suveekrop 


SYNOPSIS— In  the  Dominion  Works  Plant  of  the 
Canadian  Car  &  Foundry  Co.,  Montreal,  Canada, 
steel  disks  for  shrapnel  shells  are  made  on  a  boiler- 
plate punching  machine.  The  surface,  which  fits  a 
machined  seat  in  the  shell  body,  is  left  just  as  it 
comes  from  the  hot-forging  dies.  The  work  is  prac- 
tically a  coining  operation  performed  on  hot  steel. 

The  explosive  charge  of  the  18-lb.  shrapnel  shell  is 
contained  in  a  cup  of  very  heavy  tin.  The  cup  is  made 
from  two  stampings  joined  by  a  circumferential  soldered 
lap  joint  about  midway  of  its  height.  The  lower  part  is 
like  a  shallow  cup  with  a  rounded  bottom  fitting  snugly 


The  stock  for  the  dis*ks  is  a  good  grade  of  low-carbon 
steel.  It  comes  in  bars  about  10  ft.  long,  214  in.  wide 
and  about  Jf  in.  thick.  These  bars  are  heated  a  number 
at  a  time  in  an  oil-fired  reverberatory  furnace  of  the  reg- 
ular type. 

First  Operation 

In  Fig.  1  from  A  to  E  are  shown  the  five  stages  of 
manufacture.  The  punch  and  die  F  and  G  for  the  blank 
A  are  mounted  in  a  Long  &  Alstatter  double-punching 
machine  with  18-in.  gaps. 

The  bars,  being  heated  to  a  medium  yellow,  are  taken 
one  at  a  time.  The  furnaceman  supports  the  cold  end  of 
the  bar  while  the  press  operator  with  a  pair  of  tongs 


Fig.  1.    Tools,  Samples  of  Consecutive  Operations  and  Scrap 


in  the  machined  recess  in  the  base  of  the  shell.  The  upper 
part  follows  the  contour  of  the  angular  face  of  the  disk  and 
has  a  vertical  flange  surrounding  a  hole  in  its  center. 
This  flange  enters  a  circular  depression  in  the  lower  side 
of  the  disk.  Heavy  as  it  is,  this  cup,  without  the  protec- 
tion of  the  disk,  would  be  unable  to  withstand  the  enor- 
mous crashing  force  caused  by  the  inertia  of  approximate- 
ly 11  lb.  of  lead  bullets  when  the  propelling  charge  is  ex- 
ploded. This,  then,  is  the  duty  of  the  disk:  To  protect 
from  injury  the  container  of  the  explosive  charge  till 
the  explosion  takes  place. 


locates  the  hot  end  over  the  die,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2.  The 
die  is  a  plain  cylindrical  one,  2%  in.  diameter,  made  of 
Sanderson  carbon  steel  hardened  in  the  usual  way.  The 
end  of  the  hose  B,  Fig.  2,  fastened  to  the  punch  A,  per- 
mits a  small  stream  of  water  to  play  on  it,  whence  it  drips 
on  the  die  below,  cooling  them  both. 

The  press  is  motor-driven  and  runs,  on  this  operation,  a 
little  over  35  strokes  a  minute.  Two  men  can  punch 
about  3500  blanks  in  10  hours. 

The  dies  on  this  operation  play  out  quicker  than  the 
punches,  an  average  die  having  a  life  of  2000  blanks  be- 


[48] 


fore  it  requires  closing.    The  punches  stand  up  for  about 
5000  blanks. 

The  punches  are  plain  cylinders  with  conical  ends  hav- 
ing a  teat  in  the  middle.    The  conical  end  is  of  such  shape 


Fig.  2.    Punching  the  Blanks 

as  to  raise  the  blanks  about  ffc  in.  on  the  face  which  enters 
the  die. 

Second  Operation 

In    the   second   operation    the   blanks   B,   Fig.    1,   are 
squeezed  between  the  male  and  female  dies  shown  at  // 


lays  them,  with  the  depressed  side  up,  on  the  iron  trough 
A,  Fig.  ». 

The  pressman  handles  them  with  the  tongs  K,  Fig.  1. 
These  tongs  have  light  jaws  about  one  inch  wide,  so  that 
they  serve  not  only  for  handling  the  hot  blanks,  but  as  a 
means  for  locating  them  in  line  with  the  punch.  This 
is  done  in  the  following  manner : 

As  the  disks  lie  on  the  trough  A  with  the  depressed  side 
up,  the  pressman  in  gripping  them  in  the  tongs  allows 
the  jaws  to  rest  on  the  iron  trough  before  gripping  a 
blank.  The  blank  is  gripped  by  the  lower  edges  of  the 
wide  jaws,  which  rise  on  each  side  like  a  vertical  flange 
around  it. 

The  work  is  then  swung  to  the  upper  die  and  located 
under  and  in  alignment  with  it  by  the  vertical  flang«j 
(of  the  jaws),  which  surrounds  not  only  the  work  but  the 
upper  punch,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3.  When  the  punch  de- 
scends, the  work  is  squeezed  between  it  and  the  lower  die, 
and  on  the  return  of  the  punch  the  pressman  closes  the 
jaws  on  the  finished  second-operation  blank  and  tosses 
it  into  a  barrel. 

The  dies  in  this  operation  are  made  of  the  same  brand 
of  steel  as  those  in  the  first  operation.  This  operation  is 
not  as  severe  on  the  dies  as  the  first,  and  from  G000  to  7000 
pieces  can  be  obtained  from  both  upper  and  lower  dies. 

The  press  in  this,  as  in  the  iirst  operation,  funs  con- 
tinuously, but  the  output  is  less,  about  2800  being  the 
average  production  for  ten  hours.  Water  is  also  used  on 
the  dies  in  this  operation. 

Third  Operation 
After  the  second  operation  the  disks  are  tumbled  to  re- 
move the  scale,  as  they  must  be  clean  for  the  final  forging 
operation.     From  the  tumbling  operation  they  appear  as 


Fig.  3.    Deepening  the  Disks 


Fig.  4.     Coining  Operation 


and  I,  Fig.   1.     The  lower  die  has  a  depression  which 
throws   up   the   raised   boss   J. 

A  number  of  the  blanks  from  the  first  operation  are 
heated  at  a  time  for  this  operation.  The  furnaceman 
carries  them,  when  hot,  8  or  10  at  a  time  on  a  shovel  and 


shown  at  G  in  Fig.  1,  the  loose  scale  being  removed. 
This  is  the  final  forging  operation,  and  is  practically 
hot-coining  done  in  the  die  K.  The  knock-out  L  fits  a  cyl- 
indrical seat  %  in.  deep  in  the  bottom  of  the  die.  The 
stem  of  the  knock-out  passes  through  thg  hole  in  the  bot- 


[AS] 


torn  of  the  die,  entering  the  slot  N  in  the  bottom.  The 
slot  N,  {§  in.  wide  and  1  in.  deep,  passes  from  back  to 
front  of  the  die,  and  a  short  bar  of  steel  entering  it  is  used 
as  a  lever  to  lift  L  and  eject  the  work  from  the  die  K, 
when  completed. 

For  this  operation  the  tumbled  disks  are  heated  in 
a  furnace  and  taken  one  at  a  time  by  the  long  pick-ups  A, 
Fig.  4,  and  laid  on  the  block  B.  The  pressman  takes  them 
and  drops  them  in  the  lower  die  K,  where  they  rest  on  the 
face  of  the  knock-out.     The  upper  die  M  descends  and 


Fig.  5.     High-Speed  Steel  Die  Burst  by  Eapid 
Generation  of  Steam 

squeezes  the  plastic  steel,  forcing  it  to  fill  the  space  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  dies.  On  the  return  of  the 
upper  die,  the  pressman  pushes  the  bar  C  down  with  his 
left  hand.  Near  its  outer  end  this  bar  fulcrums  on  the 
die  bolster.  The  extreme  end  passes  into  the  slot  N 
in  the  die  and  raises  the  knock-out  so  that  the  work  can 
be  removed  with  the  tongs. 

In  this  operation  the  dies  are,  one  might  almost  say, 
flooded  with  water.  And  the  first  thought  is:  How  can 
a  piece  of  red-hot  steel  be  squeezed  between  dies  flooded 


in  the  cast-iron  press  frame  nearly  T\  in.  deep.  The  cause 
of  the  explosion,  as  previously  stated,  was  the  rapid  gen- 
eration of  steam  in  the  confined  space  when  the  dies  were 
closed. 

The  trouble  was  obviated  in  subsequent  dies  by  drilling 
a  TVin.  hole  in  the  knock-out  space  for  the  escape  of 
water  and  steam.  The  approximate  location  of  this  hole 
is  indicated  at  A,  Fig.  5.  As  this  hole  is  below  the 
top  of  the  knock-out  there  is  no  chance  of  the  hot  disk  be- 
ing squeezed  into  it.  All  the  breaks  were  in  solid  metal, 
there  being  no  sign  of  a  flaw  anywhere  on  the  fractured 
surfaces. 

On  the  final  operation  the  dies  stand  up  for  about  5000 
pieces  each  before  it  becomes  necessary  to  close  them. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  uniform  heating  is  necessary 
for  this  operation,  the  pieces  are  handled  one  at  a  time 
from  the  furnace  to  the  press.  This  results  in  a  reduction 
of  output,  and  only  about  1700  finished  disks  can  be  pro- 
duced in  10  hours. 

Fourth  Operation 

After  the  coining  operation  the  work  has  a  clean 
"bloom"  on  the  outside,  which  is  left  on ;  that  is,  the  disks 
are  not  tumbled  after  the  last  forging  operation. 

The  next  operation,  shown  at  X,  Fig.  8,  is  done  on  a 
Jones  &  Lamson  flat  turret  lathe.  The  machine  and  tools 
are  shown  in  Fig.  6.  The  work  A  is  held  in  an  ordinary 
spring  collet.  The  flat  centering-drill  B  is  first  brought 
into  action  so  that  the  twist  drill  C  will  start  true.  Fin- 
ally, the  tap  D  is  run  in.  In  operation,  the  attendant 
chucks  a  disk  with  the  small  part  of  the  taper  at  the  inner 
end  of  the  collet.  The  center  drill  B,  twist  drill  C  and 
tap  D  are  run  in  in  rotation.  The  tap,  however,  is  not 
backed  out  by  power.  On  reaching  the  proper  depth  the 
machine  is  stopped  and  the  turret  drawn  back  with  the 
tapped  disk  still  on  the  tap.    The  operator  chucks  another 


Fig.  6.     Centering,  Drilling  and  Tapping 

with  water  without  causing  an  explosion  ?  This  is  exactly 
what  did  occur  with  the  first  die,  and  the  result  is  clearly 
shown  in  Fig.  5. 

This  die  was  made  from  a  block  of  high-speed  steel, 
measuring  4%  by  4%  in.  on  the  bottom  and  is  4%  in. 
high.  The  hole  in  the  die  is  1%  in.  deep  and  tapers  from 
2|J  in.  diameter  at  the  top  to  2y2  in.  at  the  top  of  knock- 
out, so  that  at  the  thinnest  part  of  the  wall  it  is  1  in. 
thick.    This  die  burst  with  sufficient  force  to  drive  a  dent 


Fig.  7.    Facing  and  Burring  ' 

disk  and  repeats  the  operations  as  before,  but  while 
feeding  the  twist  drill  in  with  his  right  hand,  with  the 
left  he  removes  the  threaded  disk  from  the  tap. 

The  disk  must  be  carefully  chucked,  for  the  tube  which 
screws  into  it  must  be  square  with  the  seat,  otherwise 
it  will  be  cocked  over  and  trouble  would  ensue  when  the 
shell  is  fired,  due  to  the  inertia  forcing  the  disk  to  seat 
properly,  with  resultant  distortion  of  the  tube  or  powder 
cup  or  both. 


[50] 


On  this  operation   600  can  be  produced  in   10  hours. 

The  fifth  and  last  operation  is  performed  on  a  D.  E. 
Whitton  double-spindle  centering  machine,  although  in 
this  operation  only  one  spindle  is  used. 

The  work  A  is  screwed  on  the  rotating  spindle.  The 
spindle  and  work  are  advanced  by  a  lever,  not  shown. 
The  facing  cutter  B  removes  the  slight  burr  raised  around 
the  edge  in  the  last  forging  operation  by  the  metal  enter- 
ing the  space  between  the  knock-cut  and  the  lower  die, 


[ 


>-0S8S*<  00?,, 
HIBl"  LiSI-> 


X=  18  Threads, 
IC      Right  H.and 

*ft 
-»* 


Fig.  8.     Making  Steel  Disks  for  Shrapnel  Shells 

and  also  finishes  the  slight  flat  surface  required  on  the 
lower  edge.  The  operator  also  gives  the  other  edge  a 
touch  with  a  file  to  remove  any  slight  burr  formed  at  the 
space  between  the  upper  and  lower  dies.  Pivoted  on  the 
pin  G  is  a  lever  D  with  the  front  end  provided  with  a 
toothed  cam  for  holding  the  disk  while  removing  it  from 
the  spindle. 

The  production  of  the  burring  and  facing  operation  is 
1000  in  10  hours. 

Inspection  is  rigid  on  the  disks.  The  requirements  are 
fairly  close,  if  one  takes  into  consideration  the  way  the 
pieces  are  produced.  The  tolerance  of  0.02  in.  would 
perhaps  be  considered  large  for  a  re-striking  operation 
in  an  uptodate  drop-forge  shop;  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  this  is  an  ordinary  blacksmith  shop,  where 
large  rough  work  has  been  produced  and  the  machine  used 
is  intended  for  the  usual  run  of  plate  punching.  In  Pig. 
8  are  shown  the  work,  in  section  with  dimensions,  and 
the  inspection  gages. 

The  gage  A  (about  ys  in.  thick)  at  E  is  for  ascertaining 
the  shape  and  diameter  of  the  disk  top  and  at  F  the  total 
depth  of  the  disk.  The  dimensions  being  given,  the  appli- 
cation of  the  various  gages  to  the  disk  will  be  apparent. 

The  gage  B,  also  %  in.  thick,  is  for  ascertaining  at  O 
the  shape  and  diameter  of  the  base  of  the  disk  (note  the 
flats  in  the  corners  of  the  openings  O).  At  H  the  thick- 
ness of  the  edges  of  the  disk  is  gaged.  The  gage  C  is  a 
thread  gage  for  the  central  threaded  hole.  The  plug  gage 
D  is  for  the  recess  which  receives  the  top  of  the  powder 
cup. 

Having  passed  these  inspections  a  tube  is  screwed  into 
a  disk  J,  as  shown  in  Pig.  8,  and  with  the  disk  J  resting 
on  the  lower  level  of  the  two-surface  plate  K,  is  tested  for 
squareness  with  the  square  L. 

Owing  to  the  inequality  in  thickness  of  commercial 
bar  stock,  disks  are  occasionally  found,  on  inspection,  to 
be  too  thick.  These  are  returned  to  the  smiths'  shop  and 
re-struck,  the  excess  of  metal  flowing  into  the  tapped 
hole  in  the  center,  from  which  it  is  removed  in  the  re- 
threading  operation. 


By  H.  V.  Haight* 

The  experience  of  our  people  in  making  the  18-lb.  Brit- 
ish shrapnel  has  shown  up  many  faults  in  ordinary  lathes. 
Before  taking  up  these  faults,  however,  let  us  consider 
for  a  moment  the  manufacturing  method  used  on  this 
work,  which  has  given  very  satisfactory  results. 

Mr.  Van  Deventer  referred  to  this  when  he  said,  "There 
are  two  widely  different  principles  in  quantity  manufac- 
turing, each  of  which  has  its  apparent  advantages  and 
supporters.  These  are  nowhere  any  better  illustrated  than 
in  the  manufacture  of  shrapnel  shells.  Some  believe  in 
putting  as  many  operations  as  possible  on  one  machine; 
others,  in  reducing  each  operation  to  its  lowest  terms." 

Now,  in  the  case  of  shrapnel,  I  feel  very  sure  that  they 
can  be  made  for  as  low  labor  cost  and  at  much  less  capital 
expenditure  on  plain  lathes  with  home-made  attachments, 
instead  of  using  the  special  lathes  so  widely  advertised  for 
the  purpose.  But  one  difficulty  seems  to  be  that  no  one 
is  making  the  plain  lathes  that  are  required  for  this  pur- 
pose. I  do  not  like  to  call  them  engine  lathes,  for  there 
are  so  many  features  of  an  engine  lathe  that  are  not 
required.  Perhaps  "Manufacturing  Lathe"  would  be  a 
better  name. 

The  first  is  belt  power.  To  illustrate,  we  are  turning 
shrapnel  on  a  big  turret  lathe  of  24-in.  swing  and  having 
a  5-in.  hole  through  the  spindle,  yet  neither  the  belt  drive 
from  main  line  to  countershaft  nor  that  from  counter- 
shaft to  lathe  spindle  would  carry  without  trouble  a  good 
cut  on  a  3i^-in.  diameter  forging.  Can  the  American 
Machinist  produce  some  rules  for  the  belt  power  of 
a  roughing  lathe? 

The  second  requirement  is  a  good  countershaft.  As  has 
often  been  said  most  of  the  frictions  are  a  poor  lot.  On 
this  shrapnel  work,  some  of  the  friction  clutches  were  so 
poor  that  we  replaced  them  with  tight  and  loose  pulleys. 
The  oiling  systems  of  most  countershafts  are  primitive, 
and  when  repairing  the  shafts  we  sometimes  find  them 
worn  down  one-eighth  of  an  inch.  Nearly  all  of  the  coun- 
tershafts have  given  trouble. 

The  third  requirement  is  a  stiff  spindle.  For  example, 
we  are  turning  3%-in.  copper  bands  on  a  28-in.  lathe, 
because  the  spindle  is  big  enough  to  prevent  the  work  from 
chattering.  But  a  28-in.  lathe  is  a  heavy,  clumsy  thing 
to  handle  on  work  that  is  finished  in  one  minute.  If 
someone  would  offer  a  14-in.  lathe  having  a  5-in.  spindle 
with  a  3V2-in.  hole,  it  would  be  just  the  thing  for  the  job. 
Didn't  one  of  your  correspondents,  some  years  ago,  pro- 
pose a  roughing  lathe  with  a  spindle  diameter  equal  to 
one-half  the  swing  of  the  lathe?  We  are  going  to  try  a 
cutting-off  machine,  which  looks  promising.  Another 
shrapnel  manufacturer  built  a  special  lathe  with  a  big 
spindle  and  is  getting  good  results. 

A  fourth  requirement  is  a  stiff  tailstock.  As  an  instance, 
in  rough-turning  shrapnel  we  try  on  some  lathes  to  make 
up  for  the  lack  of  stiffness  in  the  driving  spindle  by  sup- 
porting one  end  of  the  work  with  the  tailstock.  But  a 
tailstock  spindle  lTf-in.  diameter  and  sticking  out  6  in. 
from  the  body  of  the  tailstock  gives  a  very  flexible  support. 
We  are  making  a  new  tailstock. 

The  above  four  essentials  may  be  condensed  into  two — 
power  in  the  drive  and  stiffness  in  the  holding  spindles. 


•Chief  Engineer,   Canadian   Ingersoll-Rand  Co. 


[51] 


Tin  Powcler  Ceps 


*iL/JJs» 


By  J.  II.  Moore 


SYNOPSIS — The  tin  powder  cup  is  an  essential 
part  of  the  18-lb.  British  shrapnel.  This  article 
describes  the  process  employed  in  making  these 
cups  and  shows  the  punches,  dies  and  other  fixtures 
that  are  required. 

In  outlining  the  operations  incident  to  the  manufacture 
of  the  powder  cups  for  18-lb.  British  shrapnel,  it  might 
not  be  amiss  to  mention  at  the  start  that  the  cup  is  placed 
in  the  receptacle  near  the  bottom  of  the.  shrapnel  shell  and 
that  it  contains  the  explosive.  From  the  cup  a  copper 
tube  is  led  through  the  center  of  the  shell  body  until  it 
reaches  the  fuse  socket,  in  which  position  it  is  ready  for 
the  attachment  of  the  timing  fuse  when  the  shell  is  de- 
sired for  use. 

As  these  shells  were  originally  manufactured  in  Eng- 
land, the  stock  specified  by  the  government  is  English 


die  itself ;  A,  the  ejector,  and  D,  the  form  block,  which  is 
operated  by  four  pins  through  the  holes  B.  These  pins 
come  in  contact  with  a  rubber  stripper  underneath  the 
press,  which  is  of  the  usual  type.  The  upper  punch  is 
shown  in  Fig.  3,  A  being  the  punch  and  B  the  drawing 
block.  These  punches  and  dies  complete  the  bottom 
portion. 

Forming  the  Top 

The  first  operation  on  the  top  requires  a  straight  blank- 
ing die,  and  as  this  is  an  every-day  proposition  I  have  not 
illustrated  it. 

The  second  operation  dies  for  forming  the  top,  are 
shown  in  Fig.  4.  In  this,  A  represents  the  upper  form 
punch;  B,  the  knockout  pin  operated  from  the  upper 
stripping  attachment  on  the  press,  and  G,  the  lower  form 
die  and  ejector.     The  illustration  shows  this  die  clearly. 

The  third  operation  is  the  piercing  of  the  top  hole  to 


Fig.  1.     Steps  in  the  Process  of  Making  a  Tin  Powder  Cup 


Fig.  2.    Bottom  Die  Used   Fig.   3.     Punch   Used  in 
for  Drawing  the  Pow-  Drawing  Powder- 

der-Cup  Bottom  Cup  Bottom 

gage.  This  has  caused  an  enormous  amount  of  annoyance 
and  inconvenience,  as  it  is  very  difficult  to  procure  the 
correct  thickness  in  this  country.  The  two  thicknesses 
are;  for  the  bottom  portion,  0.022  in.,  and  for  the  top, 
0.036  in.  This  tin  must  be  heavily  coated  and  of  good 
drawing  qualities;  otherwise  it  would  rupture  and  be 
good  only  as  scrap. 

Drawing  the  Cup  Bottom 

The  bottom  of  the  powder  cup  is  completed  in  one 
operation,  and  the  die-blanking  and  drawing  in  one  stroke 
of  the  press.  In  Fig.  1,  at  D  can  be  seen  the  shape  of  the 
bottom  after  coming  from  the  press.  The  bottom  die  for 
this  operation  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.    Here  C  represents  the 


Fig.  -i.     Punch  and  Die 
Powder-Cup  Top 


for 


Fig. 


5.  Flanging 
Tools 


take  the  copper  tube,  and  this  again  being  an  exceedingly 
simple  operation  is  not  illustrated. 

The  fourth  and  last  operation  is  that  of  making  the 
small  flange  on  top,  and  the  dies  shown  in  Fig.  5  will 


[52] 


clearly  illustrate  this  work,  A  being  the  upper  form  punch 
with  the  flange-forming  punch  inserted;  B,  the  lower  die, 
and  C,  a  hole  of  sufficient  diameter  to  allow  the  forming 
of  the  flange. 

By  referring  to  Fig.  1,  we  can  follow  the  steps  of  the 
process.     At  A  the  blank  for  the  top  portion  is  repre- 


Fig.  6.    Assembling 
the  Tin  Cup 


Fig.  7.    Elevation  of  Sol- 
dering Machine 


sented;  B  shows  the  blank  after  the  forming  operation, 
and  C  represents  the  blank  after  being  pierced  and 
flanged.  The  finished  bottom  portion  is  shown  at  D,  and 
E  represents  the  finished  tin  cup. 

Assembling  the  Powder  Cup 

The  next  step  is  that  of  assembling,  and  for  this  work, 
a  die  simliar  to  that  shown  in  Fig.  6  is  used.  The  tin 
cup  is  shown  at  A.  These  dies  can  be  placed  on  power 
prwesses  or  even  on  lever  foot  presses,  as  some  manufac- 
turers are  doing. 

There  is  one  "remaining  operation,  that  of  soldering,  and 
perhaps  one  of  the  easiest  and  quickest  methods  employed 
is  that  shown  in  Fig.  7.  This  soldering  machine  is  at- 
tached to  a  bench,  being  driven  by  a  rope  from  the  sheave 
pulley  A.  There  is  a  quick-action  releasing  attachment 
on  the  handle  B  to  permit  of  taking  out  and  replacing 
the  tin  cups.  After  being  inserted,  the  cups  revolve  and 
the  operator  merely  holds  his  iron  to  the  work  as  it  turns 
around.  Experiments  are  being  tried  to  make  this  solder- 
ing automatic,  and  perhaps  before  long  this  will  be  also 
accomplished. 

Soldering  completes  the  cup  with  the  exception  of  in- 
spection, as  the  loading  of  these  is  done  at  the  government 
arsenals,  the  various  manufacturers  having  nothing  to  do 
with  this. 

■ 

Flecfeettes 
By  C.  J.  Booth 

We  have  recently  been  producing  large  quantities  of  the 
flechettes,  or  aerial  arrows,  shown  in  the  illustration. 
These  are  dropped  from  aeroplanes  as  they  pass  over  hos- 
tile troops  and  are  said  to  be  very  effective  in  cases  of 
masses  of  men. 

These  arrows  are  made  from  ordinary  mild  steel,  ^  in. 
in  diameter  and  are  4}f  in.  in  length.  The  head  is 
pointed,  and  the  body  is  milled  away  so  that  the  remain- 
ing section  is  in  the  shape  of  a  cross.  The  point  is  not 
hardened,  but  care  has  to  be  taken-  that  it  is  axially  in 
line  with  the  center  of  the  cross  at  the  opposite  end. 
The  quantities  required  are  prodigious,  one  contract 
alone  being  for  no  less  than  fifty  millions  every  three 
months. 

The  production  of  these  aerial  arrows  does  not  present 
any  manufacturing  difficulties,  except  in  completing  them 


quickly  and  cheaply  enough.  The  method  adopted  is  as 
follows:  Bright  mild-steel  bar  of  the  correct  diameter 
is  passed  through  a  small  automatic  machine,  which  is 
usually  employed  for  making  small  bolts  and  screws,  and 
the  material  is  cut  off  in  lengths  equal  to  the  length  of 
two  arrows  plus  the  thickness  of  a  subsequent  saw  cut, 
being  pointed  at  each  end.  These  are  then  taken  to  a  hori- 
zontal miller,  where  they  are  held  in  a  jig  in  rows  of 
eight,  and  a  gang  of  milling  cutters  is  passed  over  them. 
This  completes  one-half  the  milling  required,  each  cutter 
(except,  of  course,  the  outside  ones)  milling  two  grooves 
in  two  pieces,  that  is,  in  four  arrows. 

The  next  operation  is  the  milling  of  the  two  remaining 
grooves  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  arrows.  The  jig  was 
so  made  that  the  part  in  which  the  ends  of  the  arrows 
were  locked  couid  be  removed  bodily  from  the  base, 
turned  over  without  interfering  with  the  arrows,  and  re- 
placed with  the  reverse  side  up,  being  heavily  doweled 
for  this  purpose.  This  scheme  works  admirably  and  is 
exceedingly  rapid. 

The  subsequent  operations  are  parting  off  in  the  center 


Milling  Cullers 


OPERATION  NO.Z 


OPERATION  NO.I 

The  Work  and  Milling  Method 

with  a  little  circular  saw,  and  a  final  inspection,  during 
which  burred  edges  and  fins  are  removed  with  a  file. 
The  actual  working  time  per  arrow  averages  only  three 
minutes. 

23 

A.  Fossilble  Decidllmigg  Fac&oir 

A  possible  deciding  factor  in  the  present  European  war 
may  be  the  exhaustion  of  the  machine-tool  equipment  of 
the  hostile  nations. 

This  is  essentially  a  war  of  machines,  and  as  the  fight- 
ing machines  are  made  with  machine  tools,  the  basic  re- 
source must  be  the  machine-tool  reserve.  Thus  when  ex- 
haustion comes  in  that  place,  there  must  come  the  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities,  even  if  other  factors  have  not  previous- 
ly intervened. 

We  do  not  know  with  any  accuracy  the  condition  of 
the  machine-tool  equipment  of  the  belligerents.  But  from 
general  considerations  we  know  that  it  must  be  strained 
to  the  uttermost.  It  must  be  wearing  out  faster  than 
ever  before  in  the  history  of  machinery  building  in  any 
nation  and  at  any  time.  The  addition  of  new  machine 
tools  is  a  comparatively  small  factor.  During  the  last 
eight  or  nine  months  the  United  States  has  only  doubled 
its  usual  amount  of  exports.  And  while  this  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  machine-tool  business  of  this  coun- 
try, it  is  not  a  large  factor  when  considered  beside  the 
value  of  the  equipment  that  existed  before  the  war  be- 
gan. 

The  exhaustion  of  machine-tool  equipment  is  of  course 
a  long  process.  It  is  a  matter  of  years  rather  than  months 
or  weeks.  But  such  exhaustion  can  finally  come  as  well 
as  any  other. 


[53] 


er 


TKe  MaEMsfsKcfUas3©  ©f  18 

PEnsgs 
By  J.  H.  Moore 

The  manufacture  of  sockets  and  plugs  for  18-pounder 
shrapnel  shells  has  not,  to  my  knowledge,  been  ade- 
quately treated  up  to  the  present  date.  For  this  reason, 
I  will  describe  the  methods  employed  in  making  these 
two  parts. 

The  socket  is  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  shell  and 
turned  to  the  desired  shape.  It  is  made  from  a  very 
cheap  alloy,  consisting  of  50  per  cent,  copper,  40  per  cent, 
zinc,  and  2  per  cent.  lead.  This  metal  is  so  poor  that 
it  has  been  found  practically  impossible  to  make  satis- 
factory castings.  They  must,  therefore,  be  forged  to  the 
desired  form  from  slugs.  For  this  purpose  a  300-ton 
knuckle-jointed  press  is  used,  as  the  pressure  necessary 
to  complete  this  work  is  enormous.     A  dry  furnace  for 


furnace,  with  two  men  working,  reaches  approximately 
4000  per  20-hr.  day. 

The  Fuse  Plug 

The  fuse  plug  is  the  portion  screwed  into  the  socket 
just  described.  It  is  made  from  the  same  alloy.  When  the 
shells  are  desired  for  use  in  actual  warfare,  this  plug  is 
unscrewed  on  the  battlefield  and  thrown  away. 

As  the  forging  of  this  piece  is  practically  the  same  as 
that  described,  the  dies  only  will  be  shown.  The  top  punch 
holder  is  shown  in  Fig.  7.  In  Fig.  8  is  represented  the 
outer  sub-punch,  to  which  is  added  the  inner  sub-punch, 
shown  in  Fig.  9.  These  two  punches  are  screwed  into  A, 
Fig.  7.  The  small  square  punch  shown  at  B  in  Fig.  9  is 
made  from  high-speed  steel  and  is  designed  for  easy  re- 
placement, as  a  great  many  break  off  while  at  work.  In 
Fig.  10  is  shown  the  lower  form  die,  and  in  Fig.  11,  the 
ejector  block  with  ejector  pin  in  place.  The  bolster 
plate  for  both  plug  and  socket  dies  is  shown  in  Fig.  6, 
the  reason  for  making  the  dies  interchangeable  being  to 


© 


r 

— 2.609!-> 

i 
Y 

^ 

^3^HS 

FI&.7 


FIG.8  FI&.I0 

Details  of  18-Lb.  Shrapnel-Shell  Sockets  and  Plugs 


*  Ejector     ^.....A"....  „J 
FI6.II  FIG.E 


heating  is  generally  used,  gas  being  the  heating  medium. 
Some,  however,  prefer  the  lead  bath  for  this  part  of  the 
work.  Either  is  satisfactory,  though  the  gas  furnace  is 
a  shade  the  best,  as,  with  the  bath,  the  lead  usually  gets 
into  the  dies.  The  slugs  are  placed  in  this  furnace,  and 
withdrawn  at  from  1200  to  1400  deg.  F.  At  this  temper- 
ature they  flow  easily  and  are  not  liable  to  rupture. 

In  Fig.  1  is  shown  the  socket  before  and  after  forging. 
The  slug  is  2j£  in.  diameter,  %  in.  thick  and  weighs  18 
ounces.  This  will  give  some  idea  of  the  displacement 
of  the  metal.  The  dies,  with  the  exception  of  the  lower 
bolster,  are  shown  in  detail  in  Figs.  2,  3,  4  and  5.  The 
lower  bolster  is  shown  in  Fig.  6.  In  Fig.  2  is  indicated 
the  type  of  top  die,  or  punch  holder,  used,  while  Fig.  3 
illustrates  the  top  punch.  In  Fig.  4  the  lower  die  for 
forming  is  shown,  and  in  Fig.  5,  the  ejector  block  which 
goes  into  this  die.  This  ejector  is  operated  on  by  an  ejec- 
tor rod,  which  comes  through  the  hole  A,  Fig.  4.  One 
blow  completes  the  form,  and  the  aratput  of  one  press  and 


save  the  removal  of  this  plate  from  the  bed  of  the  press. 
In  Fig.  12  is  shown  the  plug  before  and  after  forging, 
dimensions  and  weights  being  given. 

The  thread  shown  on  the  finished  work  is  not  done  in 
the  forging  operation,  but  is  produced  afterward  on  the 
turret  lathe. 

M 

A  process  claimed  to  make  practical  the  manufacture  of 
steel  scrap  into  manganese-steel  articles  has  been  developed 
by  Prof.  Henry  M.  Howe.  The  process  consists  in  first  melt' 
ing  and  mixing  the  scrap  and  a  manganiferous  material,  such 
as  ferromanganese,  containing  carbon  in  suitable  proportions 
to  produce  the  critical  ratio  between  the  carbon  and  man- 
ganese in  the  mixture  with  a  proper  allowance  for  the 
changes  in  the  proportions  of  these  elements  arising  from 
the  reactions  incident  to  melting.  The  proportions  must  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  of  manganese  by  oxidation  and  the  gain 
in  carbon  by  absorption  from  the  fuel.  The  ratio  having 
been  established,  or  approximately  so,  the  mixture  is  diluted 
with  carbon-free  iron  until  the  amounts  of  carbon  and  man- 
ganese bear  to  the  whole  the  desired  relation  in  per  cent. 
These  steps  are  supplemented  by  one  or  more  additional  oper- 
ations or  treatments  adapted  to  adjust  the  carbon  and  man- 
ganese with  greater  precision. 


[54] 


A^jitoinnigiilic  Prodluncttiomi  off  Slhur^jpimell- 


Special  Correspondence 


SYNOPSIS — In  this  article  are  shown  the  tools 
and  methods  used  for  manufacturing  shell  head 
and  fuse  parts.  The  same  machine  is  in  each  case 
equipped  for  handling  the  first  and  second  settings 
of  the  pieces.  The  equipment  is  such  that  the  parts 
produced,  when  two  settings  are  employed,  come 
within  a  limit  of  0.00k  in.  of  being  concentric  and 
the  threads  within  %  turn.  Most  of  the  parts  are 
manufactured  from  brass  forgings,  which  enables 
quick  production  to  be  made. 

The  New  Britain  Machine  Co.,  New  Britain,  Conn., 
is  tooling  up  its  multiple-spindle  automatic-chucking  ma- 


"chines  for  the  manufacture  of  shrapnel-  and  explosive- 
shell  head  and  fuse  parts,  some  of  the  operations  on  which 
are  described  in  this  article. 

In  Fig.  1  is  shown  a  special  seven-spindle  chucking 
machine,  known  as  size  No.  73,  tooled  for  making  the 
projectile  fuse  head,  Fig.  3.  The  parts  are  made  of  ma- 
chine steel.  The  blanks,  which  weigh  15  oz.  each,  are 
received  in  the  form  shown  in  Fig.  2.  These  parts  are 
finished  in  one  setting,  using  the  tools  in  the  sequence 
indicated  in  Fig.  4.  These,  it  will  be  observed,  are 
threaded  externally  and  internally.  The  ends  are  ma- 
chined. 


Fig.  1.    Seven-Spindle  Automatic 


Fig.  7.    View  of  Chuck  Jaws  for  Shrapnel  Heads 


l&TSPINDLE 


Externa  I  Spindle  SI  Rpm  External Splndle8IRpm. 


2N!>SPINDLE 


3«DSPINDLE 

External Sp'mdfe  &  Rpm. 

Interna/Spind/e-f/IRpm 


47HSPINDLE 
ExiernalSpindle  3/Rpm. 
'SpindleiURp.. 


S7"SPINDLE 


67"SPINDLE 
no  Rp.m. 


VSPINDLE 
SIR.  p.m. 


Fig.  4.    Tooling  for  Machining  Fuse  Heads 
[55] 


3HPSPW0LE 


I'HSPINDLE 


i      ! 

i 

i 
i 

1  • 

r 

m 

f~\ 

— 

r 

-\ 

i.'~\ 

H 

r 

\\ 

li      "f* 

m  i 

\\ 

1   1 

\» 

w 

if" 

-vf 

Fig.  6.    First  Setting  for  Shrapnel  Head 

The  blanks,  Fig.  2,  are  held  on  threaded  draw-back 
collets.  The  end  A,  Fig.  3,  is  machined  in  the  following 
order :  The  hub  is  drilled,  counterbored,  tapped,  turned  on 
two  diameters,  necked  and  threaded;  and  the  flange  is 
faced,  grooved  and  turned.  The  finished  pieces  weigh  13 
oz.  The  tools  operate  at  a  cutting  speed  of  approximately 
40  ft.  per  min.    The  production  is  52  pieces  per  hour. 


.  Machining  Suu.uwkl  Heads 

The  tools — first  setting — used  for  machining  the  4.7- 
in.  shrapnel  head,  Fig.  5,  are  shown  in  Fig.  6.  The  parts 
are  made  on  a  size  No.  24  four-spindle  chucking  machine. 
These  parts  arc  cold-drawn  steel  stampings;  the  blanks 
weigh  42  oz.  and  are  'machined  in  two  settings.  The 
weight  of  the  finished  piece  is  31  oz.  The  first  setting  is 
on  the  end  A,  Fig.  5,  which  is  faced,  chamfered,  grooved, 
bored  and  tapped.  For  these  operations  the  pieces  are 
held  in  two-jaw  chucks  arranged  with  the  stop  plugs  A, 
Fig.  7,  which  fit  inside  the  forms  of  the  pieces,  thus  locat- 
ing them  accurately.  This  method  of  locating  is  neces- 
sary, as  the  distance  from  the  inside  concave  surface  to 
the  outside  face  must  be  accurate.  The  production  is  62 
pieces  per  hour. 

For  the  second  setting  the  pieces  are  held  on  threaded 
drawback  arbors  by  the  thread  formed  at  the  end  A,  Fig. 


Second  Setting  for  Shrapnel  Head 


ROUGH  BLANK  e 
fl.W.WFD  Pirrr  - 


3&SPINDLE 


■JE 


face  of  Chuck 


Fig.  9      First  Setting  for  Shell  Heads 


5.  The  tools  used  on  the  large  end  are  shown  in  Fig.  -8. 
The  operations  are  facing,  chamfering,  turning,  neck- 
ing, counterbormg  and  threading.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  tools  used  for  the  first  and  second  spindles  are 
piloted  in  draw-back  arbors  to  insure  the  machined  sur- 
faces being  concentric.  The  production  for  this  setting 
is  94  pieces  per  hour  The  cutting  speed  is  approximately 
120  ft.  per  mm. 

Machining  Shell  Heads 

When  machining  the  heads  used  on  18-lh.  high-ex- 
plosive shells,  the  tools  shown  in  Figs.  9  and  10  are  used. 


three  diameters,  bored,  recessed,  and  threaded  two  diam- 
eters. The  production  is  120  pieces  per  hour.  The  parts 
are  then  placed  on  threaded  draw-back  arbors  which  fit 
into  the  internal  threads  formed  for  the  second  setting. 
The  machining  .operations"  consist  of  facing,  turning, 
necking  and  threading.  The  production  for  this  setting 
is  also  120  pieces  per  hour.  When  machining  this  part 
the  approximate  speed  of  the  tools  is  80  ft.  per  minute. 

Making  Shrapnel  Sockets 
When  machining  the  shrapnel  sockets,  Fig.  13,  the  tools 
shown  on  Figs.  14  and  15  are  used.    These  parts,  which 


IP  IP 


The  blanks,  which  are  made  as  shown  in  Fig.  11,  weigh 
2  lb.  2  oz.  each.  They  are  machined  to  the  form  shown 
in  Fig.  12,  the  weight  of  the  finished  piece  being  1  lb. 
12  oz.  These  parts  are  made  from  brass  forgings  and  are 
machined  in  a  size  No.  24  four-spindle  chucking  machine. 
The  first  setting  is  for  machining  the  ends  A.  The  pieces 
are  gripped  in  two-jaw  chucks  and  the  ends  faced,  formed 


Fig.  10.    Second  Setting  for  Shell  Heads 


.  i  - . 


[58] 


Fig.  14.     First  Setting  on  Sheapnel  Beass  Sockets 


are  made  from  solid  brass  forgings,  are  manufactured  on 
a  size  No.  24  four-spindle  machine.  The  rough  blank 
weighs  13  oz.  The  first  setting  is  on  the  end  A,  Fig. 
13.  The  blank  is  solid,  the  parts  being  gripped  in  two-jaw 


chucks.  The  machining  consists  of  facing,  boring,  re- 
cessing and  tapping.  The  pieces  are  held  on  arbors 
located  by  the  thread  formed  in  the  end.  The  production 
is  160  per  hour. 


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Fig.  15.     Second  Setting  on  Sheapnel  Beass  Sockets 


Fig.  18.    Tooling  foe  Machining  Time-Fuse  Noses 

[59] 


Fig.  20.     Tooling  for  Machining  Projectile  Priming  Plug 


In  the  second  setting  three  diameters  are  turned,  the 
end  formed  and  necked  and  the  outside  threaded.  The 
production  for  this  setting  is  also  160  per  hour. 

The  tools  operate  at  a  speed  of  116  r.p.m.  for  both 
settings. 

Producing  Time-Fuse  Noses 

The  time-fuse  nose  pieces  are  made  of  brass  forgings 
of  the  form  shown  in  Fig.  16.  These  are  then  ma- 
chined in  one  setting  to  the  contour  shown  in  Fig.  11  on 
a  size  No.  33  five-spindle  machine,  using  the  tools  shown 
in  Fig.  18.  The  rough  blanks  weigh  4  oz.  each  and  the  fin- 
ished parts,  3Va  oz.  For  these  operations  the  forgings 
are  held  in  two-jaw  chucks.  The  inside  is  faced,  formed, 
recessed  and  tapped.  The  production  is  225  pieces  per 
hr.,  the  cutting  speed  being  approximately  80  ft.  per 
minute. 


Making  Projectile  Priming  Plug 
The  tools  used  for  making  the  projectile  priming  plug, 
Fig.  19,  are  shown  in  Fig.  20.  These  are  made  from 
brass  forgings  on  a  size  No.  33  five-spindle  machine. 
They  are  solid  and  weigh  6  oz.  each.  The  pieces  are 
gripped  in  two-jaw  chucks  and  the  outside  and  inside 
operations  are  completely  finished.  The  outside  is  turned, 
formed,  necked  and  threaded.  The  inside  is  formed  out 
with  hollow  mills,  drilled,  counterbored,  necked  back  of 
tap  and  tapped,  the  tap  and  outside  thread  being  of  dif- 
ferent pitch,  but  both  threads  being  cut  simultaneously 
by  means  of  a  specially  designed  combination  tap  and 
die  head  which  allows  the  tool  of  steeper  pitch  to  ad- 
vance independently  of  the  other. 

Production  on  this  piece  is  180  per  hour;  weight  of 
finished  piece,  3  oz.,  and  approximate  cutting  speed  of 
tools,  100  ft.  per  minute. 


Face  of  Chuck 


Fig.  23.    Fikst  Setting  on  Timi:-Fusk  P>odies 
[60] 


Second  Setting  on  Time-Fuse  Bodies 


Time-fuse  bodies,  which  are  made  from  brass  forging?, 
come  to  the  machine  in  the  form  shown  in  Fig.  21.  They 
weigh  13  oz.  each.  They  are  machined  to  the  shape  shown 
in  Fig.  22,  using  for  the  two  settings  the  tools  shown  in 
P'igs.  23  and  24  on  a  size  No.  23  four-spindle  machine. 

For  the  first  setting  the  parts  are  gripped  in  two-jaw 


chucks  and  the  end  A,  Fig.  22,  is  bored  from  the  solid, 
reamed,  recessed  and  tapped,  and  the  outside  taper  turned, 
faced  and  threaded.  Although  not  so  shown,  this  end  is 
also  internally  threaded.  The  production  for  this  setting 
is  55  pieces  per  hour.  For  the  second  setting  the  pieces 
are  held  in  threaded  draw-back  collets  which  fit  into  the 
threads  formed  in  the  previous  setting.  The  head  and 
stem  are  turned  and  faced,  and  the  stem  is  chamfered  and 
threaded.  The  production  is  120  per  hour.  The  weight 
of  the  finished  parts  is  8  oz.  each.  For  the  machining 
operations  on  these  parts,  the  tools  operate  at  a  cutting 
speed  of  approximately  80  ft.  per  minute. 

Making  Time-Fuse  Kings 

The  time  rings  shown  on  Fig.  25  are  made  of  brass 
forgings.  The  rough  blanks  for  the  pieces  weigh  6  oz. 
each,  and  the  finished  parts,  4  oz.  The  operations  are  per- 


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U 


dfa 


zr 


Head  of  Machine 


L-l^i+^lzzL ]n 


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XT 


v//6      v--face  of  Chuck 


Fig.  26     Tooling  for  Machining  Time- Fuse  Rings     80  ft.  per  minute., 

[61] 


formed  in  one  setting  on  a  size  No.  23  four-spindle  ma- 
chine, using  the  tools  shown  on  Fig.  26.  The  parts  are 
gripped  in  two- jaw  chucks' and  then  the  end  A,  Fig.  25, 
is  faced,  drilled  and  counterbored.  The  production  is  240 
per  hour,  and  the  cutting  speed  of  the  tools  approximately 


By  John  H.  Van  Deventer 


SYNOPSIS — Two  hundred  Canadian  machine 
shops  are  at  work  producing  munitions  of  war. 
They  are  thoroughly  organized  into  a  great  manu- 
facturing unit  in  which  each  plant  produces  its  spe- 
cialty and  depends  upon  other  plants  in  the  same 
way  that  one  department  does  on  another  in  a  large 
factory.  To  avoid  endless  confusion,  the  various 
plants  must  be  tied  together  so  that  their  efforts 
will  be  directed  most  effectively  toward  the  com- 
mon end.  This  is  the  work  of  the  shell  committee, 
which  controls  the  expenditure  of  $70,000,000. 

The  office  of  the  Canadian  Shell  Committee  is  a  busy 
place  in  these  days.  The  space  in  front  of  the  office 
railing  in  the  ante-room  reminds  one  of  a  crowded  court 
room  during  general  sessions,  except  for  the  mixture  of 
cigar  smoke  and  shoulder  straps.  The  civilian  element 
is  well  represented,  however,  in  the  persons  of  shop  ex- 
ecutives who  are  making,  or  who  wish  to  make,  war 
material. 

How  the  Shell  Committee  Came  into  Existence 

At  theoutbreak  of  the  war,  it  became  evident  that  one 
of  the  most  serious  problems  to  solve  was  that  of  an 


the  Nova  Scotia  Steel  Co.;  George  W.  Watts,  of  the 
Canadian  General  Electric  Co. ;  E.  Carnegie,  of  the  Elec- 
tric Metals  Co.;  Brigadier-General  T.  Benson,  master 
general  of  Ordnance;  Lieutenant-Colonel  C.  Greville 
Harston,  Canadian  Institute  of  Arms  and  Ammunition; 
Lieutenant-Colonel  F.  D.  Lafferty,  superintendent  of  the 
Dominion  Arsenal,  and  J.  W.  Borden,  chief  accountant 
of  the  Militia  Department.  Its  technical  ordnance  advisor 
is  David  Carnegie,  who  formerly  was  chief  engineer  of 
Hadfields,  England,  the  largest  shell-manufacturing  plant 
in  Great  Britain. 

The  Committee  was  organized  on  Sept.  2,  1914,  and  by 
the  middle  of  the  month  following,  the  first  shells  were 
finished.  They  came  from  the  shops  of  John  Bertram 
Sons,  Ltd.,  at  Dundas,  Ont.  Mr.  Carnegie  took  them  with 
him  to  England  to  see  if  they  would  pass  inspection. 
Since  then  there  has  been  a  steady  stream  of  them  finding 
its  way  across  the  ocean. 

We  have  looked  upon  the  United  States  as  being  the 
home  of  the  excessively  large  industrial  undertaking  and 
the  place  where  great  schemes  are  carried  out  so  rapidly 
that  the  process  resembles  slight-of-hand.  But  when  it 
comes  to  a  general  average  of  number  of  plants,  number 
of  employees,  geographical  location  and  shortness  of  time 
available  for  organization,  we  must  take  our  hats  off  to 


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Fig.  1.    Form  Used  to  Eecord  Parts  Shipped  to  an  Assembling  Shop  and  Accepted  Complete  Shells 

The  complete  form   (17x31  in.)  provides  for  all  parts 


adequate  supply  of  ammunition  to  continue  war  on  such 
an  unparalleled  scale.  The  Canadian  Minister  of  Militia, 
Major-General  Hughes,  called  a  meeting  of  prominent 
Canadian  manufacturers,  at  which  government  ordnance 
experts  explained  the  construction  of  the  various  shells 
that  it  was  proposed  to  make.  The  question,  Can  it  be 
done  in  Canada?  which  had  been  asked  rather  doubtfully 
by  English  officials,  was  answered  in  the  affirmative  ,by 
the  assembled  manufacturers. 

Upon  this  decision,  the  shell  committee  was  imme- 
diately appointed  by  the  Minister  of  Militia,  as  a  neucleus 
about  which  to  arrange  activities.  It  consists  of  Colonel 
Bertram,!  chairman;  Lieutenant-Colonel  T.  Cantley,  of 

•An  interview  with  its  active  head,  Colonel  Bertram. 

tBy  the  time  that  this  article  goes  to  press  it  will  be 
very  likely  that  the  official  announcement  will  have  been 
published,  gazetting  Colonel  Bertram  as  General.  He  has 
been  referred  to  under  the  former  title  in  this  article  because 
his  friends  in  the  machine-tool  industry  will  be  more  fa- 
miliar with  it  and  because,  at  this  writing,  the  official  an- 
nouncement has  not  been  made. 


our  Canadian  neighbors  and  admit  that  they  hold  the 
record. 

The  thing  has  been  done  so  quietly  that  but  few  have 
the  least  idea  of  its  magnitude.  Picture  to  yourself  a 
combination  of  200  shops,  distributed  from  Nova  Scotia 
to  Vancouver;  40,000  employees  and  executives,  and  a 
working  capital  of  $70,000,000.  Imagine,  if  you  can, 
these  shops  divided  as  to  activities  so  that  certain  ones 
produce  certain  component  parts  in  the  proper  quantities 
to  feed  those  plants  which  have  been  assigned  the  finishing 
operations.  Try  to  imagine  the  detail  and  energy  neces- 
sary simply  to  control  the  handling  of  material  betewen 
these  various  plants.  Imagine  the  task  of  inspecting  the 
product  of  each  feeder  shop  before  it  is  passed  along  to 
the  next  one.  Imagine  the  task  of  accounting  and  re- 
cording all  the  individual  plant  earnings  and  operations, 
and  of  auditing  them  for  payment.  And  then,  if  you 
have  any  imagination  left,  try  to  think  of  all  this  being 


[62] 


put  in  working  shape,  and  organized  within  the  space  of 
six  months ! 

People  Who  Thrive  on  Hard  Work 

The  Colonel  sat  behind  a  desk  surrounded  by  evidences 
of  activity.  Shell  samples  in  all  stages  of  completion 
decorated  the  room.  Brass  cartridge  cases  and  timing 
fuses  were  in  evidence.  Even  the  desk  lighting  fixtures 
were  made  of  discarded  shells — good  ones  being  in  too 
great  demand  for  other  purposes.  The  well-blackened 
meerschaum  pipe  that  occupied  a  corner  of  the  desk  pre- 
sented a  strong  contrast  to  all  of  these  warlike  imple- 
ments. One  might  have  expected  to  see  signs  of  strain  due 
to  these  strenuous  demands  and  long  hours  of  work,  but 
none  were  in  evidence.  I  expect  that  the  pipe  has  "done 
its  bit"  to  help  in  this  respect,  and  if  so,  it  deserves  a  place 
in  Canadian  history. 

"It  is  all  due  to  the  remarkable  spirit  cooperation," 
said  Col.  Bertram,  modestly,  in  reply  to  my  inquiry  of 
how  such  results  had  been  possible.  "Plant  managers 
who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  getting  to  the  office  at  10  in 
the  morning  are  out  in  the  shop  in  their  shirt  sleeves 
at  seven.  They  are  working  harder  than  they  ever  have 
before  in  their  lives." 


How  the  Committee  Attacked  the  Shell  Problem 
"In  attacking  this  problem,"  said  the  Colonel,  "we 
took  one  shell  at  a  time  and  divided  it  into  its  component 
parts.  There  were  ten  of  these  in  the  case  of  the  18-ib. 
shrapnel.  We  had  to  make  sure  of  a  supply  of  forgings, 
disks,  powder  cups,  powder  tubes,  lead  balls,  fuse  sockets, 
fuse  plugs,  grub-screws,  rosin  and  wooden  shipping  cases 
before  we  could  arrange  for  the  final  operations  of  finish- 
ing, filling  and  assembling.  Then  too,  we  had  to  arrange 
for  the  inspection  of  all  of  these  component  parts — a 
task  quite  aside  from  the  government  inspection,  which 
has  to  do  only  with  the  finished  shell.  We  employ  over 
200  inspectors  at  this  work,  and  they  are  all  directed  and 
managed  from  this  office." 

I  ventured  that  in  subletting  these  various  parts  to 
different  shops,  it  must  have  been  difficult  to  arrive  at  an 
equitable  price  schedule. 

"That  was  done  very  simply,"  replied  the  Colonel,  with 
a  laugh.  "We  had  no  time  to  make  involved  and  lengthy 
estimates,  so  we  advertised  for  bids  on  the  various  parts. 
When  they  were  all  in,  we  took  all  of  the  bids  on  a  certain 
part,  added  them  up  and  struck  an  average.  We  let 
the  manufacturers  do  the  estimating,  and  the  result  has 
been  quite  satisfactory." 


SHELL    COMMITTEE 

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Fig.  2.  Form  Used  to  Eecord  the  State  of  Shipments  of  Each  Component  Part  on  Various  Contracts 


"This  spirit  and  the  necessities  of  the  case  have  resulted 
in  some  rather  remarkable  work,"  continued  the  Colonel. 
"Machines  are  being  used  for  purposes  of  which  their 
designers  and  builders  never  dreamed.  Just  examine  this 
3.3  in.  cartridge  case." 

I  looked  at  a  very  perfect  specimen  of  deep-drawing 
and  heading. 

That  work  was  done  on  bulldozers  and  frog  planers. 
It  was  difficult  to  get  deliveries  on  cartridge-case  ma- 
chinery. And  it  was  quite  necessary  to  get  some  of  these 
coming  along  before  proper  machinery  could  be  delivered 
and  installed.  So  we  turned  to  the  railroad  shops. 
Through  a  happy  thought  we  tried  drawing  the  cases  on 
bulldozers.  It  worked  to  perfection,  and  the  brass  shells 
made  by  this  process  came  out  within  a  thickness  limit 
of  0.001  in.,  well  within  the  requirements  inasmuch  the 
customary  allowance  is  0.004.* 

Through  all  of  my  visits  to  Canadian  shops,  I  have 
been  impressed  with  the  fact  that  improvised  equipment 
with  brains  and  energy  behind  it  can  be  made  to  accom- 
plish remarkable  results.  The  production  of  excellent 
cartridge  cases  on  such  unlikely  machines  is  an  additional 
proof  that  we  do  not  begin  to  know  the  limits  of  our  com- 
mon mechanical  equipment. 


•This  work  will  be  described  in   a  forthcoming  series  en- 
titled "The  Angus  Shops  in  War  Time." 


As  a  matter  of  fact,  where  a  large  number  of  inde- 
pendent shops  are  involved,  this  is  as  accurate  a  way  as 
could  be  imagined  to  arrive  at  a  fair  price.  Some  shops, 
of  course,  are  making  more  profit  than  others,  but,  as  Col. 
Bertram  expressed  it,  "The  different  shops  are  jealous 
only  of  one  another's  output — not  earnings." 

A  walk  through  the  main  office  of  the  committee  head- 
quarters, to  inspect  the  routine  of  activities  in  detail  re- 
vealed a  system  of  records  worthy  of  note  for  simplicity 
and  effectiveness.  The  tracing  of  orders  and  recording  of 
partial  shipments  are  cared  for  on  two  sheets  designed  for 
the  purpose.  The  first,  shown  in  Fig.  1,  records  shipments 
of  component  parts  made  to  an  assembling  plant.  It 
indicates  not  only  the  supply  of  parts,  but  also  the  output 
of  accepted  shells,  space  being  provided  for  this  at  the 
right-hand  side.  By  showing  both  of  these  incoming  and 
outgoing  quantities,  it  also  indicates  at  once  any  shortage 
of  component  parts  or  their  undue  piling  up,  should  this 
occur.  Entries  are  made  upon  this  sheet  from  the  ship- 
ping bills  of  the  delivering  shops,  subject,  of  course,  to 
check  for  both  quantity  and  quality  by  the  committee's 
inspectors. 

The  second  sheet  is  intended  to  record  the  state  of 
orders  of  individual  component  parts  and  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  assembling  shops.  It  is  from  this  record  sheet 
that  invoices  are  passed  for  payment. 


[63] 


Shortages  are  cared  for  very  simply.  To  avoid  confusion 
in  the  records,  and  changes  in  contracts  and  billing,  all 
shortages  are  made  up  so  that  the  exact  number  specified 
is  eventually  delivered  on  each  order.  For  example,  on 
an  order  for  5000  grub-screws,  where  32  of  them  were 
short,  the  missing  32  were  sent  along  by  parcel  post. 

The  Colonel  had  one  big  advantage  to  start  with,  due 
to  his  long  experience  at  machine-tool  building  and  his 
acquaintance  with  the  shops  of  Canada.  As  most  of  you 
know,  he  is  president  of  John  Bertram  Sons,  Ltd. 

I  remarked  that  his  plant  must  be  overwhelmed  with 
orders  for  machine  tools,  thinking  of  the  demand  for 
these  that  we  have  felt  in  our  own  country.  "We  haven't 
time  to  make  machine  tools,  we  are  too  busy  turning  out 
shells,"  was  the  reply.  Evidently  patriotism  begins  at 
home  in  this  case. 

"There  is  one  big  thing  that  I  want  to  impress  upon 
you,"  he  said  earnestly.  "It  is  so  big  that  I  don't  believe 
that  anyone  of  us  as  yet  fully  grasps  what  it  means.  As 
you  travel  about  from  shop  to  shop,  you  will  notice  how 
•quickly  the  best  methods  from  one  plant  are  adopted  in 
another.  The  result  of  this  has  been  a  raising  of  the 
average  all  along  the  line  until  the  whole  process  of  shell- 
making  in  the  majority  of  shops  today  may  be  said  to 
consist  of  a  combination  of  'best  ways.'  It  is  due  to  the 
cooperation  that  is  manifested  everywhere — to  the  absolute 
lack  of  petty  jealousy  and  to  the  freedom  with  which 
ideas  are  interchanged." 

There  is  a  big  truth  here  for  us  to  take  home  and  think 
over.  Patriotism,  of  course,  is  the  underlying  cause  of 
the  result.  The  intermediate  and  more  direct  cause,  how- 
ever, is  the  breaking  down  of  secretiveness  and  the  free 
■exchange  of  ideas.  The  result  has  been  so  remarkable  in 
the  manufacture  of  ammunition  that  I  am  sure  Canada 
will  apply  it  to  its  peaceful  industries  after  the  war  has 
ended.  If  she  does,  it  will  not  be  long  before  her  material 
losses  are  offset  by  a  higher  industrial  efficiency. 

But  at  what  a  cost !  Those  of  us  who  have  seen  the 
khaki-clad  flower  of  Canadian  manhood,  with  blankets 
and  boots  slung  over  shoulders,  gently  freeing  them- 
selves from  the  farewell  embraces  of  little  arms ;  those  of 
us  who  have  seen  the  look  in  the  eyes  of  the  women  who 
must  stay  behind  and  wait;  those  of  us  who  have  seen 
these  things  have  had  a  vision  of  the  real  price  that  must 
be  paid  and  can  but  wish  our  sister  country  all  the  mate- 
rial compensation  possible,  knowing  that,  at  the  best,  it 
will  be  sadly  insufficient  in  the  present  generation. 

■ 

TIhe  lE,f£<&<c&  of  "Was3  ©k&  Macfiaaiae 


The  effects  of  the  European  war  are  being  discussed 
from  all  sorts  of  viewpoints.  We  are  told  that  the  bio- 
logical effect  is  deplorable — the  next  generation  in  the 
warring  countries  must  be  bred  from  the  weaklings  who 
were  unfit  for  military  service.  We  are  told  that  the 
financial  effect  will  be  disastrous — the  next  generation 
must  work  with  redoubled  efforts  to  repair  the  waste  now 
going  on.  We  are  told  that  the  industrial  effect  will 
be  revolutionary,  due  to  the  destruction  of  some  indus- 
trial centers  and  the  establishment  of  others,  and  to  the 
flow  of  labor  in  the  refugees  of  the  present  and  in  the 
•emigrants  who  will  leave  after  the  war  is  over. 


But  all  these  views  are  partly  speculative  and,  to  that 
extent,  valueless.  We  can  discuss  with  more  profit  the 
effect  upon  machine  tools,  for  this  is  a  war  of  machinery. 
War  necessity  has  no  restraint.  Twenty-four  hours  a 
day  and  seven  days  a  week  is  the  working  time  of  ma- 
chine tools  engaged  in  producing  war  materials.  There 
is  no  time  for  rest,  no  time  for  bearings  to  get  cold. 
Many  machinery  builders  shrink  from  overtime  and  night 
work  because  of  the  certain  destructive  effect  upon  their 
equipment.  Wear,  losses,  and  breakage  are  always  greater 
in  proportion  under  overtime  and  rush-work  stress  than 
under  regular  conditions.  Thus,  when  from  necessity 
a  plant  must  adopt  night  work  and  keep  machines  rushing 
all  the  time  under  the  greatest  possible  pressure  for 
production,  what  will  be  the  result?  It  is  reasonable 
to  believe  that  a  year  of  such  driving  will  take  more 
out  of  machinery-building  equipment  than  five  years  of 
ordinary  usage. 

The  present  demands  upon  the  machinery-building 
plants  of  England,  France,  Germany  and  Bussia  are  tre- 
mendous. The  Allies  are  buying  machine  tools  all  over 
the  United  States.  Shipments  even  thus  far  have  been 
enormous  when  compared  with  the  average  of  the  pre- 
ceding years.  The  German  Government  has  ordered  ma- 
chinists from  the  army  to  the  shops,  for  the  machine- 
tool  builders  could  not  meet  the  government  requirements 
without  more  workmen.  The  British  Government  has 
withdrawn  skilled  recruits  and  sent  them  back  to  ma- 
chine and  bench.  Immediately  after  war  was  declared 
France  commandeered  machine  tools  from  small  machine 
shops,  job  shops,  and  private  owners,  assembling  these  in 
large  groups  and  establishing  a  factory  system  for  pro- 
ducing ammunition.  Bussia  is  beginning  to  take  large 
numbers  of  machine  tools  by  the  Pacific  route. 

These  few  facts  give  a  hint  of  the  strain  and  pressure 
upon  the  machinery-building  capacity  of  the  warring 
nations.  The  demand  includes  not  only  the  production 
of  rifles,  field  guns,  ammunition,  aeroplanes,  automobiles, 
war  vessels,  and  rolling  stock — all  subject  to  destruction 
in  time  of  war — but  also  machinery  repairs  and  replace- 
ments to  maintain  the  living  conditions  of  the  noncom- 
batants.  Machine  tools  and  small  tools  must  be  wearing 
out  faster  under  this  stress  than  ever  before  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.    . 

A  striking  comment  concerning  all  this  comes  from  a 
German  correspondent.    He  writes : 

You  cannot  possibly  have  an  idea  of  the  enormous  boom 
in  machine  tools  in  this  country  [Germany}.  For  in- 
stance, a  turret  lathe  or  engine  lathe  is  at  present  not  to 
be  had  for  love  or  money.  Lathes  four  and  five  years  old 
are  fetching  more  money  than  when  they  were  new.  A 
multiple-spindle  automatic  has  become  a  valuable  prop- 
erty and  the  man  who  owns  four  or  six  is  sure  to  make  a 
fortune  inside  of  a  year.  This  is  no  tale  from  fairyland, 
but  absolute  fact. 

If  Americans  are  alert  and  quick  in  adjusting  them- 
selves to  the  new  conditions,  they  will  benefit.  But  this, 
however,  is  not  exactly  the  point  I  want  to  impress  you 
with.  The  majority  of  machine  tools  in  this  country  are 
at  present  put  to  such  hard  use  night  and  day  that  they 
will  be  fit  for  the  scrap  heap  before  the  war  is  over.  The 
same  can  be  said  of  the  motor  cars  and  quite  a  number 
of  other  kinds  of  machines.  I  cannot  go  into  detail,  but 
I  assure  you  that  at  the  end  of  the  war  a  quite  unparalleled 
situation  will  arise  for  the  machine-tool  industry. 


[64] 


]h©p>s  Iim  Warttimme 


By  John  H.  Van  Detenter 


SYNOPSIS — A  description  of  some  remarkable 
mechanical  achievements  at  the  eastern  shops  of 
the  Canadian-Pacific  begins  with  this  number. 
What  has  been  done  at  this  plant  proves  conclusive- 
ly that  energy  and  incentive  can  overturn  prece- 
dents set  by  customary  practice.  In  this  article, 
which  will  be  followed  by  others  describing  the 
work  in  detail,  the  wartime  activities  at  Angus  are 
outlined.  It  tells,  also,  how  a  33,000-lb.  hay-bal- 
ing press  was  machined,  erected  and  delivered  in 
eleven  days. 

If  an  eye  specialist  who  had  for  years  devoted  his  at- 
tention to  the  organ  of  sight  should  under  the  spur  of 
necessity  remove  one's  appendix  with  the  aid  of  a  cork- 


Pig.  1.     A  Station-Type  Indenting  Peess  Built  at  Angus 


screw  and  hacksaw,  it  would  be  considered  rather  a  feat 
of  adaptation.  But  on  close  analysis,  one  can  hardly 
say  that  this  would  be  more  remarkable  than  the  adapta- 
tions of  skill  and  machinery  which  have  been  made  at 
Angus  since  the  beginning  of  the  war. 


Angus  is  the  home  of  the  eastern  shops  of  the  Canadian- 
Pacific  Eailroad.  Normally,  8000  men  are  busy  there 
building  and  repairing  locomotives,  freight  and  passenger 
cars,  and  almost  every  other  species  of  movable  railway 
equipment.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  railway  shops,  and 
few,  if  any,  are  more  completely  fitted  to  turn  out  rolling 
stock  and  its  appurtenances.  Also,  as  is  generally  the 
case  in  railroad  shops  and  which  make  the  present  trans- 
formation more  remarkable,  most  of  those  who  work  there 
are  distinctly  locomotive  and  car-shop  men.  They  have 
served  their  time  at  this  kind  of  work.  Like  the  eye 
specialist,  they  have  been  at  it  for  years  and  have  done 
little  of  anything  else. 

A  Complete  Transformation 

Today,  Angus  is  an  arsenal  in  full  working  order.  It 
bristles  with  war  activities.  Mechanics 
have  forgotten  that  there  are  such 
things  as  motion  blocks  or  cross-head 
pins  and  are  turning  out  shrapnel 
shells.  Car  builders  who  have  been  ac- 
customed to  the  generous  fit  allowances 
applied  to  freight-car  trucks  are  draw- 
ing brass  cartridge-cases  to  the  thou- 
sandth part  of  an  inch.  Precedent  and 
past  practice  have  been  overthrown  in 
the  face  of  the  mandate — "Do  it  with 
what  you've  got." 

In  the  manufacture  of  war  material 
one  finds  certain  demands  which  are 
staple  and  which  lead  to  a  standard 
output  and  others  which  are  spasmodic 
and  consist  of  special  constructions. 
Angus  has  had  its  share  of  both.  It  is 
one  of  the  few  Canadian  shops,  for  ex- 
ample, which  is  making  both  the  shrap- 
nel shell  and  the  brass  cartridge-ease 
for  it.  In  addition  to  these  staple  prod- 
ucts, to  which  three  large  shop  build- 
ings are  devoted,  some  exceptionally 
fine  work  has  been  done  at  very  short 
notice  in  the  locomotive  shops. 

Making   Forging   Presses   for   tee 
Nova  Scotia  Steel  Company 

Take  the  shell-forging  presses  for  the 
Nova  Scotia  Steel  Co.  for  example.  Be- 
fore completing  shrapnel  shells,  one 
must  have  the  forgings,  and  to  make 
these,  powerful  presses  are  required; 
their  stroke  is  unusually  long,  and  they 
must  exert  a  pressure  of  some  300  tons. 
The  weight  of  a  press  of  this  type  is 
over  62,000  lb.,  and  its  size  combined 
with  peculiarities  of  design  would  seem 

to  make  it  impossible  to  get  such  equipment  in  a  hurry. 
Alive  to  the  necessities  of  the  case,  Angus  accepted  the 

order  for  the  first  press  of  this  kind  made  in  Canada. 

Twenty  days  later,  the  first  machine  was  shipped.    In  the 

interim  they  had  designed  and  built  the  patterns,  cast 


[65] 


and  machined  the  parts,  and  assembled  and  tested  the 
completed  press.  Moreover,  as  you  will  see 'in  a  sub- 
sequent article,  much  of  the  work  was  beyond  the  range 
of  the  available  machine  equipment. 

Htdeaulio  Peesses  foe  Caeteidge-Case  Woek 

The  same  necessity  for  quick  delivery  led  the  Canadian- 
Pacific  to  build  its  own  presses  for  cartridge-case  indent- 
ing and  heading,  as  well  as  the  accumulators  with  which 
these  presses  are  operated.  Presses  weighing  500  and 
600  tons  with  rotary-station  dial-feed  tables  are  a  little 
out  of  the  regular  line  of  work  for  a  locomotive  shop; 


is,  to  say  the  least,  a  little  complicated,  makes  this  achieve- 
ment one  worthy  of  noting.  No  drawings  were  available 
for  the  machine,  patterns  being  made  from  a  model  and 
the  design,  improved  in  many  respects  over  the  original, 


Fig.  2.  Angus-Built  Caeteidge-Heading  Peesses  and 
accumulatoes  to  opeeate  them 

in  fact,  somewhat  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  machine  tools 
that  are  found  there.  This  did  not  stand  in  the  way  of 
producing  them  at  Angus,  however,  and  their  action  has 
been  so  satisfactory  that  a  number  of  them  have  been  sup- 
plied to  other  concerns  in  Canada. 

Making  a  Hay-Baling  Peess  in  a  Hueby 

An  exceptional  case  of  quick  delivery  is  that  of  the  first 
hay-baling  press  manufactured  at  this  plant,  which  is 
shown  in  Figs.  3,  4  and  5.  The  first  intimation  that  the 
shops  were  to  build  such  machines  was  received  Wednes-" 
day,  Aug.  12,  1914.  The  first  machine  was"running  in 
the  shop  on  Saturday,  Aug.  22,  1914,  and  was  delivered 
at  the  wharf  the  next  day.  By  Tuesday  noon,  Aug.  25, 
it  was  pressing  hay.  The  second  machine  was  delivered 
Tuesday,  Aug.  25;  the  third  and  fourth  on  Wednesday, 
Aug.  26,  and  the  fifth  on  Thursday,  Aug.  27,  making  a 
total  of  15  days  for  the  complete  shipment  of  all  five 
machines. 

The  fact  that  the  machine  itself  weighs  33,800  lb.  and 


Fig.  4.    Eeae  View  of  the  Hay-Baling  (Peess 


Fig.  6.    Jig  Used  foe  Babbitting  Hay-Baling  Fbames 

proceeding  simultaneously  with  the  building  of  the  first 
machine. 

Action  of  the  Hay -Baling  Peess 

The  action  of  this  hay-baling  press  is  of  interest,  as  it 
gives  an  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  machine  built  in  such 
remarkably  quick  time.  Loose  hay  is  shoveled,  or  forked, 
into  an  opening  at  B,  Fig.  5.    At  regular  intervals,  deter- 


[66] 


mined  by  a  cam  device,  the  board  0  descends  as  indicated 
by  the  dotted  line,  forcing  the  loose  hay  into  the  space  L 
just  ahead  of  the  ram  G.  This  ram  then  moves  forward, 
compressing  the  hay  and  clearing  the  chamber  L  at  each 
stroke..  When  sufficient  hay  has  been  compressed  to  form 
a  bale,  a  lever  M  is  tripped  by  the  machine  operator.  This 
drops  a  cast-iron  block  B  in  front  of  the  plunger.  There 
are  a  number  of  these  blocks,  and  their  function  is  to  di- 
vide the  hay  into  bales  and  to  permit  of  its  being  wired, 
each  block  containing  wiring  grooves  E  through  which  the 


Jigs  and  Fixtures  on  Hurry-TJp  Work 
It  might  be  thought  that  on  rush  work  of  this  kind  no 
time  would  be  taken  for  jigs  or  fixtures.  In  this  case 
the  contrary  was  true.  In  Fig.  6  is  shown  a  babbitting 
jig  used  for  the  main  frame,  which  carries  the  gear  arid 
flywheel  at  the  rear  end  of  the  machine.  This  frame 
weighs  some  5y2  tons,  and  as  a  result  of  using  the  jig, 
one  frame  is  quite  interchangeable  with  another — a  fact 
that  had  significance  shortly  after  the  first  machine  was 
set  in  operation,  as  will  be  apparent  a  little  later. 


Fig.  3.    A  Machine  that  Was  Built  and  Shipped  in  Eleven  Days,  Including  Patterns 


soft  iron  wire  is  passed.    The  wiring  operation  is  done  by 
hand  when  the  bales  reach  the  opening  II. 

The  bales  then  pass  through  the  space  I,  which  is  in- 
closed with  steel  slats  that  furnish  sufficient  resistance  to 
the  passage  of  the  bales  to  enable  their  compression  to  ■ 
be  accomplished  by  the  thrust  of  the  plunger — a  thrust, 
by  the  way,  estimated  at  35  tons. 

While  tli e  hay-baling  press  may  be  called  a  crude  ma- 
chine, the  fact  that  the  first  one  was  completed  in  a  strange 
shop  in  1 1  days  indicates  a  far  from  crude  shop  organi- 
zation es  f  jeialiy  when  it  is  remembered  that  drawings 
were  not  available  to  work  from. 


These  hay-baling  presses  were  installed  on  one  of  the 
waterside  piers  at  Montreal  and  were  kept  busy  baling 
much-needed  hay,  which  was  shipped  to  France.  The 
capacity  of  one  machine  is  60  tons  in  10  hours,  and  just 
at  the  time  when  all  of  the  machines  were  urgently  needed, 
the  main  frame  of  one  of  them  broke,  due  to  an  undiscov- 
ered defect.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  use  of  jigs  in  build- 
ing these  machines,  this  would  have  meant  a  serious  set- 
back and  probably  a  week's  delay.  As  it  was, ''the  new 
frame  was  in  place  and  the  machine  running  again  within 
24  hours.  The  new  frame  was  very  simply  installed  by 
lacking  the  body  of  the  machine  up  sufficiently  to  cleai 


[67] 


the  floor  of  the  dray  on  which  the  casting  was  sent  over, 
and  then  backing  the  latter  up  until  the  bolt  holes  came 
line  in  line. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  effect  of  hay  upon  the  steel 
strips  which  form  the  bale  passage  of  the  machine.    Deep 


which  time  the  hay  appears  to  deposit  a  sticky  substance 
which  helps  to  cause  the  scoring. 

The  Man  Behind  These  Activities 
H.  H.  Vaughn  is  the  man  to  whom  credit  must  be  given 


L.....£oJi----*Li---e^f--*U--- -6-/0$"- -  -4* 

Uc - — ??-Ri- — 


Fig.  5.    Details  of  the  Hay-Baling  Press 


.^■— ■ 


...  ~J 


grooves  are  scored  into  the  metal  of  these  strips  through 
friction  of  the  wisps  of  hay,  this  taking  place  most  fre- 
quently when  the  machine  has  been  heated  by  friction,  at 


for  setting  these  various  activities  in  motion.     Early  in 
the  war  his  energies  were  applied  to  the  new  demands, 


Fig.  7.    General  View  of  the  Cartridge-Case  Plant 

[68] 


H.  H.  Vaughn 

this  finally  resulting  in  his  giving  up  his  regular  work  in 
order  to  have  more  time  for  them.  It  was  through  his 
efforts  that  the  red-tape  ordinarily  necessary  in  a  large 
railway  plant  was  lifted  sufficiently  to  secure  quick  results. 
He  must  also  be  credited  with  a  broad  conception  of  the 
ultimate  possibilities  of  machines  and  men,  considering  the 


erector  who  had  been  sent  to  Africa  with  a  shipment  of 
Pullman  cars  made  for  the  De  Beers  Co.  at  the  time  he 
worked  there. 

The  Lost  Pullman  Cars 

This  Yankee  erecting  man  was  a  very  capable  fellow  in 
his  way  when  sober,  which,  unfortunately,  was  but  a  small 
part  of  the  time.  He  took  a  decided  fancy  to  the  in- 
spector, who  worked  with  him  during  his  stay  in  Africa. 
Some  years  later,  the  inspector  came  to  the  States  and, 
landing  at  the  Pullman  plant,  happened  to  ask  for  his 
Yankee  acquaintance.  "He  is  not  here  any  more,"  was 
the  reply.  "A  year  ago  they  sent  him  down  to  Mexico 
with  a  bunch  of  Pullman  cars,  and  he  lost  them  I"  One 
would  not  ordinarily  think  of  a  Pullman  coach  as  an  easy 
thing  to  lose,  but,  on  reflection,  it  may  not  be  so  difficult 
after  all.  At  any  rate,  this  story  indicates  the  fact  that 
those  in  charge  of  activities  at  Angus  have  knocked  about 
extensively  and  have  possibly  acquired  a  broad  viewpoint 
of  men  and  means  without  which  their  present  achieve- 
ments would  have  been  impossible. 

One  complete  shop  has  been  devoted  to  the  production 
of  shrapnel  shells.  Its  capacity  is  3000  of  these  per  day, 
although  it  must  be  said  that,  in  common  with  most  other 


Fig.  8.    Bulldozers  Have  Found  a  Xew  Field  of  Application 


remarkable  adaptations  of  both  that  have  been  made  at 
this  plant. 

The  versatility  of  railway  mechanics  and  car  builders 
may  have  helped.  They  are  a  widely  traveled  class  as  a 
rule,  as  evidenced  by  the  inspector  who  told  the  story 
of  the  man  who  lost  a  Pullman  car.  This  inspector  had 
learned  his  trade  in  England,  worked  at  car  building  at 
the  De  Beers  mines  in  South  Africa,  landed  over  in  the 
States  with  the  Pullman  Co.,  and  finally  hooked  up  with 
the  Canadian-Pacific  in  time  to  help  them  make  cartridge 
cases  for  his  native  country.     He  told  of  a  Yankee  car- 


Canadian  shell-producing  shops,  this  capacity  is  seldom 
reached  due  to  an  insufficient  supply  of  the  shell  forg- 
ings. 

Making  Cartridge  Cases  on  Bulldozers  and  Frog 
Planers 

It  would  seem  that  as  we  apply  it,  experience  opens  one 
door  a  little  wider  and  at  the  same  time  closes  a  dozen 
others.  In  other  words,  those  whose  experience  has  taught 
them  a  definite  way  to  do  a  thing  seldom  think  of  other 
ways  radically  different,  but  equally  practical.    Improve- 


[69] 


Fig.  9.     Frog  Planeks  Drawing  Brass  Cartridge  Cases 


ments,  if  they  come,  are  made  on  the  basis  of  the  original 
methods.  What  the  world  loses  or  what  it  gains  by  this 
instinctive  habit  is  hard  to  tell.  But  sometimes  exper- 
ience and  precedent  get  a  severe  jolt  that  upsets  them  con- 
siderably, and  this  has  taken  place  at  the  Angus  shops 
in  the  matter  of  cartridge-case  drawing.  A  shop  in  which 
freight-car  trucks  were  formerly  assembled  has  been 
pressed  in  use  as  a  shell-drawing  department.  Bulldozers 
and  frog  planers  have  taken  the  place  of  specialized  shell- 
drawing  machines  and,  strange  to  say,  have  done  the  job 
equally  well,  if  not  quite  as  rapidly. 

It  is  not  hard  to  think  of  the  idea  after  you  have  seen 
it  carried  out,  but  it  needed  some  such  jolt  as  the  shock 
of  war  to  produce  the  idea.  As  compared  with  the  delay 
and  expense  which  would  be  necessary  to  put  in  a  spe- 
cialized equipment  for  this  work,  the  Angus  shops  have 
undoubtedly  made  a  good  investment.  And  after  the  war 
is  over,  if  some  Canadian-Pacific  foreman  is  told  to  go 
ahead  and  build  a  flying  machine,  or  something  equally 
difficult  and  unknown  to  him,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  will 
say  "I  don't  know  how"  or  "I  never  did  that  kind  of  work 
before,"  but  he  will  go  ahead  with  what  he's  got  and  get 
it  out! 


The  attitude  of  the  United  States  is  substantially  to 
make  no  recognition  of  contraband  or  noncontraband 
goods.  This  was  manifested  clearly  in  August,  1914, 
by  an  order  sent  to  the  custom  officials  of  this  country,! 
directing  them  to  clear  all  shipments  without  distinction! 


as  to  their  nature  or  destination.  The  sole  restriction 
is  that  the  vessels  must  be  reputable  ones.  This  declara- 
tion officially  settles  our  idea  of  neutrality  as  permitting 
anyone  to  purchase  from  us  anything  that  he  desires,  but 
it  does  not  tell  the  American  shipper  how  to  keep  these 
goods  from  being  seized. 

The  deciding  factor  for  the  shipper  is  really  the  con- 
ception of  contraband  in  the  minds  of  those  who  are  in  a 
position  to  hold  up  and  confiscate  his  shipment.  The  list 
is  a  constantly  changing  one,  new  bulletins  being  issued 
every  few  weeks  by  each  of  the  belligerents.  The  latest 
contraband  items  of  interest  to  the  mechanical  industries 
in  this  country  were  declared  by  the  British  Government 
on  Dec.  23,  1914: 

Absolute  Contraband 

Arms  of  all  kinds;  projectiles  and  parts;  gun  mountings 
and  parts;  range  finders  and  parts;  articles  of  camp  equip- 
ment and  parts;  armor  plate;  copper,  unwrought  and  part 
wrought,  and  copper  wire;  warships,  including  boats  and  de- 
structive parts  of  such  a  nature  that  they  can  be  used  only 
on  a  vessel  of  war;  aeroplanes  and  aircraft  of  all  kinds  and 
component  parts  and  accessories;  motor  vehicles  of  all  kinds 
and  component  parts;  implements  and  apparatus  designed 
exclusively  for  the  manufacture  or  repair  of  munitions  of 
war  or  for  the  manufacture  or  repair  of  arms  or  war  ma- 
terial for  use  on  land  and  sea. 

Under  the  heading  of  "Conditional  Contraband": 

Vehicles  of  all  kinds  other  than  motor  vehicles  and  com- 
ponent parts;  railway  material,  both  fixed  and  rolling  stock, 
and  material  for  wireless  telegraph  and  telephone;  horseshoes 
and  shoeing  material;  field  glasses,  telescopes,  chronometers, 
and  all  kinds  of  nautical  instruments. 

The  last  item  under  Absolute  Contraband,  "Appa- 
ratus designed  exclusively  for  the  manufacture  or  repair 
of  munitions  of  war,"  is  the  real  stumbling  block. 


[70] 


Mas"  SIhell=F 


imlini! 


Editorial   Correspondence 


SYNOPSIS— The  shell-forging  presses  for  the 
Nova  Scotia  Steel  Co.  were  built  in  the  Canadian- 
Pacific's  Angus  shops.  The  first  press  was  de- 
signed, machined,  erected,  tested  and  shipped  with- 
in three  weeks  of  the  receipt  of  the  order  calling 
for  it.  This  article  describes  the  construction  and 
operation  of  these  presses  and  also  tells  how  vari- 
ous parts  were  handled  on  machines  that  were  too 
small  for  the  job.  A  successful  SO  per  cent,  steel 
mixture  used  for  several  of  the  large  castings  is 
also  described. 

Things  which  are  now  being  done  in  the  mechanical 
world  are  of  interest,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  show 
what  can  be  done,  and  while  it  is  deplorable  and  unfor- 
tunate that  these  unusual  examples  of  achievement  have 
been  directed  toward  destructive  rather  than  constructive 
ends,  one  may  hope  that  the  new  standard  of  progress 
now  established  will  remain  after  its  incentive  has 
changed  from  a  war-like  to  a  peaceful  basis. 

All  belligerent  nations  have  no  doubt  responded  equally 
to  the  spur  of  necessity  in  producing  war  materials.  The 
shops  in  Canada  which  have  come  under  observation  have 
been  like  a  machine  department  with  the  piece-price  earn- 
ing limit  removed — they  have  established  new  records 
both  for  costs  and  deliveries. 

In  this  article  an  achievement  of  the  latter  kind  will 
be  described.  For  any  shop  to  design,  machine,  erect, 
test  and  ship  a  62,500-lb.  hydraulic  press  within  20  days 
of  the  receipt  of  the  first  intimation  that  such  a  job  was 
to  be  tackled  is  a  real  achievement  in  delivery,  especially 
as  work  of  this  kind  was  foreign  to  the  shop  in  question. 
This  press  was  the  first  of  five  which  were  built  for  the 
Nova  Scotia  Steel  Co.  at  the  Angus  shops  of  the  Cana- 
dian-Pacific E.R.  Four  of  these  presses  had  a  45-in. 
stroke,  exerting  a  total  pressure  of  268  tons ;  one  of  them 
had  a  36-in.  stroke  and  a  total  pressure  of  322  tons.  The 
same  patterns  were  used  for  both  types,  the  cylinder  wall 
being  left  thicker  on  the  smaller-capacity  press.  The 
average  weight  of  each  completed  press  was  62,500  lb. 
The  first  intimation  that  these  were  to  be  built  came  Jan. 
11,  1915,  and  the  first  press  was  completely  assembled 
and  tested  on  Jan.  31,  and  was  shipped  the  same  evening 
at  6  p.m.- — one  of  the  evident  advantages  of  being  a  rail- 
way shop  consisting  in  the  ability  to  get  cars  on  which  to 
ship  goods  at  short  notice. 

The  action  of  the  forging  press  will  be  made  clear  by 
the  following  description  in  connection  with  Fig.  2 : 

The  heavy  base  easting  A  aids  the  support  of  the  cast- 
steel  cylinder  B  by  means  of  four  heavy  steel  bars  shown 
at  E.  The  plunger  D  carries  the  upper  platen  C,  which  is 
forced  downward  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines  when  water 
under  pressure  of  1500  lb.  to  the  square  inch  is  admitted 
to  the  cylinder.  The  upper  platen  is  returned  to  its  high 
position  by  means  of  two  pull-back  cylinders  H,  which  are 
rigidly  attached  to  the  main  cylinder  B.  These  may  more 
correctly  be  called  "push-back"  cylinders  since  their  func- 
tion is  to  push  upward  the  plunger  G,  which  elevates  the 
top  crosspiece  F,  to  which  the  upper  platen  C  is  attached 
by  means  of  the  bolts  J. 


Tee  slots  are  provided  in  both  the  base  and  the  upper 
platen  for  the  attachment  of  plungers  and  dies  with  which 
to  draw  the  steel  shell  forgings.  The  diagrammatic  illus- 
tration, Fig.  2,  is  not  a  correct  representation  of  the  press 


Fig.  1.    Hydraulic  Shell-Forging  Press  Built  for 
Nova  Scotia  Steel  Co. 

being  purposely  distorted  to  make  its  action  clear;  an  as- 
sembled view  of  the  machine  as  actually  built  will  be 
found  in  Fig.  3.  The  press  is,  of  course,  a  vertical  one 
and  is  operated  by  water  pressure  in  connection  with  a 
system  of  hydraulic  accumulators. 


[71] 


All  sorts  of  liberty  in  design  was  allowed  Angus  by  the 
Nova  Scotia  Steel  Co.  Its  order  was :  "Give  us  a  vertical 
press  for  making  shrapnel  shells,  capable  of  exerting  268- 
tons  pressure  and  with  a  45-in.  stroke,  and  give  it  to  us 
quick."  With  this  meager  information  to  start  with, 
designs  and  drawings  were  completed  in  three  days.  It  is 
true  that  the  draftsmen  worked  until  10  at  night  and  the 
tracings  were  not  made  until  afterward,  pencil  drawings 
being  used  in  the  shop  for  the  first  press.  But  in  spite  of 
these  facts,  one  may  put  this  down  as  a  notable  drafting- 
room  achievement,  especially  when  he  calls  to  mind 
draftsmen  acquaintances  who  would  take  more  than  this 
length  of  time  to  work  out  some  insignificant  detail. 
These  designs  had  to  be  right  from  the  start,  for  when 


E 


JLI i_ ii 


^T-SL 


.5E...P" 


Notto5cale 

IT 


IT 


i_A 


iU- 


Fig.  2.    Diagram  Showing  Action  of  Shell- 
Forging  Press 

things  move  in  such  a  hurry  there  is  no  time  later  on  to 
go  out  in  the  shop  and  change  designs. 

The  Patterns  and  Castings 
Sweeps  were  used  wherever  possible  in  order  to  econo- 
mize time  in  the  foundry  and  pattern  shop,  but  those 
patterns  that  were  built  were  made  in  a  substantial  man- 
ner and  gave  no  evidence  of  being  intended  for  a  rush 
job.  The  press  cylinder  is  made  of  steel.  The  average 
American  accustomed  to  ordinary  steel  foundry  deliveries 
would  at  this  juncture  throw  up  his  hands  and  say,  "Good 
night,  quick  shipment !"  But  the  same  germ  must  have 
inoculated  the  steel  foundry  that  had  gotten  into  Augus' 
system,  for  within  one  week  after  receiving  the  pattern, 
the  foundry  delivered  the  casting. 

The  other  principal  castings  of  the  press — base,  platen 
and  ram — are  made  from  a  30  per  cent,  steel  mixture  cast 
at  the  Angus  foundry.     This  contains  silicon  1.4,  man- 


ganese 0.8,  sulphur  0.14,  phosphorous  0.5,  combined  car- 
bon 0.8,  total  carbon  3.2.  Castings  made  from  this  mix- 
ture have  run  as  high  in  tensile  strength  as  30,000  lb.  to 
the  square  inch. 

The  flasks  for  this  hurry-up  job  were  in  most  cases 
those  at  hand  which  came  nearest  to  fitting  the  piece.  In 
some  instances  they  were  none  too  large,  which  necessitated 
shaking  out  rather  quickly  after  the  casting  had  solidified 


7T 


Fig.  3.    Assembled  Cross-Sectional  View  of  26x45- 
.  In.  Shell-Forging  Press 

to  prevent  the  flasks  from  being  injured  by  burning.  A 
peculiar  result  of  this  necessity  will  be  apparent  later  in 
the  article. 

Forging  the  Guide  Bolts 

The  large  round  bars  used  for  bolts  for  the  press  were 
made  of  billets  that  were  fortunately  at  hand,  although 
one  cannot  put  it  beyond  the  capabilities  of  Angus  black- 
smiths to  weld  three  or  four  driving  axles  together  into 
a  billet  of  sufficient  size. 


[72] 


The  cast-steel  cylinder  offered  the  most  difficulties  of 
any  of  the  parts  in  connection  with  the  machining  opera- 
tions because  of  the  bolt  holes  and  pull-back  cylinder  seats 
which  had  to  be  bored  in  exact  alignment  with  the  cylin- 


' 


Fig.  4.     Fixtures  Used  in  Boeing  Press  Frames 
and  Locomotive  Axles  Used  as  Arbors 

der  proper,  exactly  spaced  and  equally  distant  from  the 
cylinder  center  line. 

The  casting  was  first  rough-planed  on  a  Morton  draw- 
stroke  planer,  a  tool  that  corresponds  in  usefulness  in  the 
railroad  shop  to  the  open-side  planer  in  general  contract 


extended  beyond  the  cylinders  at  each  end  and  rested  in 
the  supports  B,  upon  which  the  cylinder  was  swung  about 
its  center  line  much  as  a  small  piece  is  rotated  in  an  index 
head.  This  permitted  the  eight  holes  on  the  three  center 
circles  E,  F  and  0  to  be  located  with  much  exactness. 
The  work  table  D  being  independent  of  the  headstock  and 
tailstock  permitted  the  boring  bar  C  to  be  located  without 
trouble  at  the  correct  center  distance. 

An  Advantage  of  This  Plan 

One  advantage  of  this  plan  aside  from  accurate  center- 
ing was  in  permitting  to  be  bored  at  one  chucking  holes 
which  were  too  far  apart  to  be  within  the  table  traverse 
of  the  machine.  It  also  avoided  the  overhanging  of  heavy 
work  when  extreme  table  movement  was  used.  The  first 
cylinder,  which  was  made  without  the  centering  fixtures, 
required  one  inch  more  than  the  maximum  table  traverse. 
This  was  obtained  by  bolting  an  extension  cross-feed  screw 
collar  one  inch  outboard  of  its  normal  position;  the  feed 
screw  itself  fortunately  being  long  enough  to  permit.  The 
overhanging  table  was  supported  by  lifting  jacks  upon 
which  were  placed  pieces  of  heavy,  flat  bar  steel  sur- 
mounted by  short  steel  rollers  upon  which  the  table  moved. 
This  arrangement  gave  the  required  support  without  fric- 
tion and  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  table  from  snapping 
off  under  such  an  excessive  overhanging  weight. 

The  base  and  top-rail  were  machined  in  a  similar  way. 
Center  holes  for  chucking  were  first  bored  on  a  large 
radial  drill,  after  the  castings  had  been  spotted  on  a 
planer  to  give  true  locating  surfaces.    When  it  is  eonsid- 


Fig.  5.    Arrangement  for  Boring  Cylinder  Bolt  Holes 


shops.  Next,  it  was  taken  to  a  vertical  boring  mill,  where 
the  central  cylinder  hole  was  bored  and  the  lower  surface 
faced. 

An  interesting  arrangement  was  rigged  up  for  boring 
the  pull-back  cylinder  seats  and  the  guide-bolt  holes ;  this 
is  illustrated  in  Fig.  5.  The  cylinder  itself,  its  center  hole 
already  finished  on  the  vertical  mill,  was  mounted  on  a 
trunnion  H,  one  end  of  which  was  fitted  with  a  flanged 
sleeve  J,  which  was  turned  to  the  full  size  of  the  cylinder 
bore.  Tho  other  end  of  this  trunnion  fitted  the  smaller 
hole  K,  which  was  provided  for  the  purpose  of  supporting 
the  core  and  which  was  finished  on  the  vertical  mill  at  the 
time  the  central  hole  was  machined.     The  trunnions  H 


ered  that  the  alignment  of  this  center  hole  determined  the 
alignment  of  the  long  supporting  bars  and  that  a  slight 
error  would  be  greatly  multiplied  in  the  length  of  the  bar, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  radial  drill  and  its  operator  had  a 
job  on  their  hands.  The  boring  bar  was,  of  course,  sup- 
ported by  a  pilot  bushing  in  the  drill  base. 

Plugs  for  these  castings  were  made  to  fit  the  center 
holes  and  extend  on  each  side,  forming  trunnions  on 
which  they  were  swung  for  boring  in  a  manner  similar 
to  that  employed  for  the  cylinder  shown  in  Fig.  5. 

The  threads  upon  the  supporting  bars  and  in  the  nuts 
were  all  cut  in  the  lathe  by  means  of  threading  tools.  In 
spite  of  the  extreme  rush  in  which  the  job  was  completed. 


[73] 


a  full  sec  of  gages  for  the  supporting  bar  threads  was 
made — not  only  the  full  threads,  but  gages  for  several 
stages  in  its  cutting. 

Erecting  and  Testing  in  One  Night 

The  press  was  completely  erected  and  given  a  hydraulic 
test  in  one  night  which  is  evidence  of  the  fact  that  it  went 
together  without  a  hitch.  Having  such  long  bolts  to  con- 
tend with  and  but  -fa  in.  clearance  on  the  long  guide  holes 
of  the  platen,  the  slightest  error  in  machining  would  have 
caused  great  delay.  When  the  top  cross-piece  was  finally 
dropped  into  place,  the  erected  press  cleared  the  traveling 
crane  by  just  one  inch. 

If  there  were  any  machinists  or  others  employed  at 
Angus  with  a  disposition  to  be  apprehensive  of  Zeppelin 
attacks  from  overhead,  their  nerves  were  no  doubt  shaken 
a  bit  by  something  that  happened  during  the  progress  of 
the  work. 

In  war  time,  and  when  working  on  war  material,  it  is 
not  reassuring  to  have  one's  ears  assailed  by  a  loud  ex- 
plosion.    But  the  cause  of  the  disturbance  was  nothing 


=3* 

=3 


Fig.  6.     The  Casting  that  Exploded 

more  formidable  than  one  of  the  large  base  castings  for 
the  press  which  had  quite  suddenly  exploded !  This  base 
casting,  a  30  per  cent,  steel  mixture,  was  made  as  shown 
by  the  heavy  lines  in  Fig.  6.  The  bolt  flange  was  a  con- 
tinuous circle,  and  tee  slots  were  cored  in  the  upper  sur- 
face, as  shown  at  A.  Heavy  steel  blocks  used  to  support 
these  cores  had  the  effect  of  weakening  the  structure  in 
a  definite  line.  When  the  casting  was  pulled  out  of  the 
sand  and  wheeled  while  still  hot  into  the  freezing  atmos- 
phere without,  enormous  stresses  were  set  up  within  the 
casting  which  resulted,  a  few  days  later,  in  its  violent  rup- 
ture. The  redesigned  base  is  shown  by  the  dotted  lines  in 
Fig.  6 ;  this  minimized  the  danger  from  shrinkage  stresses. 

What  Made  Quick  Delivery  Possible 

Most  of  you  will  admit  that  to  put  a  new  job  of  this 
kind  through  a  shop  in  such  a  short  time  is  a  noteworthy 
achievement.  Absolute  cooperation  all  through  the  ranks 
made  this  possible.  You  do  not  find  this  in  ordinary 
times.  A  good  shop  manager  may  be  able  to  arouse  a 
remarkable  degree  of  enthusiasm  and  cooperation,  but  it 
is  not  really  solid — there  are  holes  in  it  here  and  there. 
Let  someone  discover  the  formula  for  producing  the 
real  100  per  cent,  simon-pure  article  by  which  every  man 


puts  his  whole  heart  unreservedly  into  his  task,  and 
achievements  of  this  kind  will  be  comparatively  easy. 
Unfortunately,  nothing  short  of  war  seems  to  furnish  in- 
centive enough  to  accomplish  this  result. 

N 

The  Bethlehem  Steel  Co.,  South  Bethlehem,  Penn.,  and 
the  Thos.  B.  Jeffery  Co.,  Kenosha,  Wis.,  have  combined 
their  engineering  skill  to  produce  the  armored  motor  truck 
shown  in  the  illustrations. 

The  chassis  is  that  of  a  Jeffrey  quad  truck,  with  a 
four-cylinder  water-cooled  gasoline  engine,  developing  ap- 
proximately 50  hp.,  which  drives  through  a  transmission, 
located  in  the  center  of  the  chassis  frame,  to  all  four 
wheels.  The  transmission  is  arranged  for  four  speeds 
forward  and  four  reverse,  with  a  maximum  speed  of  30 
mi.  per  hr.  Each  wheel  is  provided  with  a  steering 
knuckle,  embodying  the  combination  of  four-wheel  drive 
and  four-wheel  steering.  The  four-wheel  steering  feature 
enables  the  truck  to  be  turned  in  a  circle  of  44  ft 

This  combination  permits  of  the  truck  being  driven  and 
steered  either  forward  or  reverse  with  equal  ease.    A  self- 


Bullet-Proof  Motor  Truck 

starter  is  fitted  and,  as  a  precaution  in  case  of  failure,  a 
hand-crank  starter  is  also  provided ;  this  can  be  operated 
by  the  driver  from  his  seat  without  his  exposing  himself 
to  the  enemy's  fire. 

On  exhaustive  tests  it  was  proved  that  this  truck  could 
not  be  stalled  under  any  circumstances  or  conditions  which 
could  reasonably  be  imposed  upon  any  kind  of  self-pro- 
pelled vehicle.  With  a  full  load,  the  truck  was  driven 
through  mud  in  which  it  sunk  up  to  its  axles,  up  an  incline 
including  a  49-per  cent,  grade,  and  across  a  rough  stretch 
of  country  which  presented  obstacles  from  2  to  3  ft.  in 
height. 

To  the  chassis  frame  is  attached  a  structural  frame- 
work of  angles  and  channels,  designed  with  a  view  to  giv- 
ing maximum  flexibility  combined  with  necessary  strength, 
on  which  the  armor  plate  is  carried. 

All  armor  plates  have  been  ballistically  tested  and  have 
withstood  a  bullet  from  a  service  rifle  at  a  50-yd.  range. 


[74] 


9d& 


rs\WM¥g   ]ie=ji]D>o  ^aruraoge  Cases  ©mi 


By  John  H.  Van  Deventer 


SYNOPSIS — The  demands  of  war  cause  machines 
to  be  put  to  unexpected  uses,  and  their  operators 
to  develop  unthought  of  capabilities.  That  bull- 
dozers and  frog  planers  could  be  adapted  to  the  ac- 
curate requirements  of  brass  cartridge-case  work  is 
almost  beyond  the  range  of  possibilities.  Yet  it  is 
successfully  done  at  the  Angus  shops,  and  the  de- 
tailed description  of  the  process  is  begun  in  this 
article. 

One  of  the  editors  of  the  American  Machinist  was 
conversing   several   months   ago   with   an,   official   of   a 
large  brass-drawing  plant — a  man  of  great  skill  and  ex 
perience. 

"Have  you  heard,"  queried  the  editor,  "that  in  Canada 
they  are  making  cartridge  cases  on  planers  and  bull- 
dozers ?" 

"I  have  heard  it  rumored,"  replied  the  expert,  "but 
can  hardly  believe  it.  They  may  have,  in  a  crude  way, 
performed  one  or  two  operations  on  such  machines,  but 
beyond  that  it  would  seem  impossible." 

With  these  words  he  expressed  the  probable  opinion 
of  the  99  out  of  every  100  of  those  versed  in  such  work. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  at  the  Canadian-Pacific's  Angus 
shops  they  are  using  these  apparently  unsuitable  machines 


Arrangement  of  the  Cartridge  Department 
A  truck-shop  building  was  cleaned  out  and  made  over 
into  the  cartridge  department.    The  arrangement  of  ma- 
chines, inspecting  room,  pickling  and  washing  tanks  and 
other  equipment  are  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

A  bit  of  dust  or  grit  on  one  of  the  drawing  dies  or  plung- 
ers makes  an  ugly  scratch  in  the  case,  and  it  was  consid- 
O.300r 


JO       40       50       60        70        80       90       100 

l"Disk 
60       80       100      120       140      160      180      200 
E"Disk 
Load  in  Thousands  of  Pounds 
Fig.  3.    Curves  Showing  Eelations  between  Stress 
and  Strain  in  Cartridge  Material 


Fig.  1.    The  Evolution  or  a  Cartridge  Case 


for  every  press  operation  except  heading  and  indenting, 
and  they  are  not  only  getting  a  high-grade  product,  but 
they  are  rapidly  nearing  their  ultimate  capacity  of  3000 
cases  per  day.  Moreover,  there  is  not  one  man  employed 
on  this  work  who  had  previously  worked  in  a  brass-draw- 
ing shop  or  had  experience  of  a  similar  nature. 


ered  more  advisable  to  keep  this  shop  free  from  smoke 
and  dust  than  to  try  to  avoid  transportation.  Therefore, 
as  the  nearest  available  building  for  the  annealing  fur- 
naces was  the  blacksmith  shop  across  the  midway,  this 
shop  was  used  for  the  drawing  operations,  and  the  indent- 
ing and  heading  presses  were  also  installed  there. 


[75] 


Fig.  5.     Bulldozers  in  a  New  Role 


List  of  Operations 

The  operations  as  performed  on  cartridge  cases  at  the 
Angus  shops  are  as  follows: 


denting  being  performed  after  the  second  draw.  The 
third,  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  draws  are  shown  at  F,  G,  H 
and  I.  At  J  is  the  headed  cartridge  case,  while  K  repre- 


1.  Blank 

2.  Cup 

3.  Anneal 

4.  First  draw 

5.  Anneal 

6.  Second  draw 

7.  First  indent 

8.  Anneal 

9.  Second  Indent 


10.  Anneal 

11.  Third  draw 

12.  Anneal 

13.  Fourth  draw 

14.  Anneal 

15.  Fifth  draw 

16.  First  trim 

17.  Anneal 

18.  Sixth  draw 


19.  Second  trim 

20.  Head 

21.  Semi-anneal 

22.  First  taper 

23.  Second  taper 

24.  Head  turning 

25.  Parallel  cutting 

26.  Stamp 

27.  Shop  inspection 


There  are  six  drawing  and  seven  annealing  operations ; 
the  cupping  and  first  four  draws  are  handled  on  bull- 
dozers, and  the  last  two  draws,  on  frog  planers.  The  round 
blank  is  punched  out  of  strips  of  sheet  brass,  and  each  disk 
weighs  3  lb.  9*/^  oz.  at  the  start.  By  the  time  it  has  be- 
come a  finished  case,  it  has  lost  l^V  lb.  due  to  trimming, 
the  finished  weight  being  2.49  pounds. 

All  stages  in  the  process  are  represented  in  Fig.  1. 
The  round,  flat  blank  punched  out  of  strip  brass  is 
shown  at  A;  the  cup  made  directly  from  this  is  shown 
at  B,  and  C  and  D  represent  the  first  and  second  draws 
respectively.    The  indented  case  is  shown  at  B,  the  in-. 


Fig.  4.    Tote  Boxes  Used  for  Transporting  Brass 
Cartridge  Cases 


Fig.  2.    Diagram  Showing  the  Arrangement  of  Cartridge  Department  at  the  Angus  Shops 


[7G] 


sents  the  completely  tapered  case  with  its  hase  machined 
and  ready  for  the  primer,  which,  of  course,  is  not  fur- 
nished at  this  shop  nor  attached  until  the  complete  cart- 
ridge is  in  government  hands. 

Motor-Driven  Machines 

The  bulldozers  and  planers  are  all  motor-driven.  There 
are  four  of  each  of  these  machines,  one  of  the  bulldozers 


rail,    and    the    die-holder,    on    an    angle-block    on    the 
table. 

Little  was  known  at  the  start  about  the  pressures  re- 
quired to  accomplish  the  various  drawing  and  heading 
operations.  To  throw  light  on  this  subject,  experiments 
were  made  with  brass  disks  of  the  same  composition  as  the 
cartridge  cases,  the  effect  of  pressure  upon  them  being 
studied.    The  results  of  these  experiments  are  shown  in 

t<— 3954--->i 
f—4Q83-"- 


—  4.083- 


'—■0.42"R. 


.-j-X.0.380 

*,/t<  LUBRICANT: 

Z-MINERAL 
l-TAUOW 
DISK 


SAMS  LUBRICANT 

ANNEAL  FOR  35  MIN. 

AT  650  C 

CUPPING 


LUBRICANT  °&S 

TALLOW  AND  OIL  ON  WORK 

SOAP  AND  WATER 

ON  TOOLS 

ANNEAL  FOR  35  MIN  AT  650  C 

IVDRAH 


0.378 


SAKE 
LUBRICANT 


k—  -»-'•-« 

NO  LUBRICATION        , 
ANNEAL  FOR  10MMAT650C 
INDENT 


0.44T 


NO  LUBRICATION 
ANNEAL  FOR  35  MIN.  AT  650  C. 
3VDRAW 


>* -3.789 


SAME  LUBRICANT       , 
ANNEAL  FOR  30  MIN.  AT  650  C 


4r-"DRAW 


SAME 
LUBRICANT 


S'-"DRAW 


ANNEAL  FOR  30 MIN. 
AT6S0X. 


IV  TRIHMINS 


6VDRAW 


CLEAN  IN  CAUSTIC  ACID 
DRY  IN  SAW  DUST 


Z'J>  TRIMMING 


NO  LUBRICANT 
SEMI- ANNEAL  FOR  35  SEC. 
IN  6AS  FURNACE 

HEADING 


LUBRICANT 
NEAT-FOOT  OIL 
2  V TAPERING 


Fig.  6.    Various  Stages  of  the  Case  Reproduced 
from  Actual  Sections 

being  provided  with  three  sets  of  plungers  and  dies  and 
the  others  having  but  one  set  each.  On  the  bulldozers, 
the  die  is  mounted  on  a  special  crosshead,  and  the  plunger, 
on  the  rail.    On  the  planers,  the  punch  is  mounted  on  the 


Fig.  3,  and  they  served  as  the  basis  for  calculations  when 
the  presses  were  built. 

The  evolution  of  the  punches  and  dies  for  this  work  was 
a  matter  of  much  labor  on  the  part  of  the  toolroom  fore- 
man, W.  M.  Whitehouse,  and  while  Mr.  Vaughn,  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  was  assured  in  his  own  mind  of  the 
practicability  of  drawing  such  work  on  bulldozers,  it  was 
a  matter  that  had  to  be  proved,  no  precedent  being  known 
for  such  novel  use  of  a  machine  of  this  type.  The  first 
set  of  plungers  and  dies  were  worked  up  to  be  tried  on  a 
single  bulldozer.  After  experiments  extending  over  two 
weeks'  time,  successful  cases  were  produced,  and  when 
the  first  three  of  these  had  been  secured,  the  Canadian 
Shell  Committee  was  notified  of  the  feasibility  of  making 
cartridge  cases  in  this  way.  The  entire  committee  was 
at  hand  within  a  day  or  two  to  witness  the  demonstration 
of  bulldozers  in  their  new  role,  and  as  a  result,  a  large  con- 
tract for  cartridge  cases  was  placed  with  the  Angus  shops. 

The  Bulldozers 

The  bulldozers  in  the  cartridge  department  are  shown 
in  Fig.  5.  The  machine  in  the  foreground-  has  seen  »bout 
20  years  of  active  service  and  would  scarcely  be  considered 
a  suitable  device  for  producing  accurate  work.  It  answers 
the  purpose  in  first-rate  manner,  however,  although  re- 


[77] 


Pig.  10.    Frog  Planer  Used  fob  the  Last  Draw 


quiring  the  assistance  of  brace  rods  to  overcome  the 
spring. 

One  of  the  bulldozers,  a  modern  machine,  has  been 
equipped  with  three  sets  of  plungers  and  dies.  The  center 
one  takes  care  of  the  cupping  of  the  disk,  while  the  two 
outside  ones  handle  the  first  draw.  A  recess  is  provided 
behind  the  plate  D,  Fig.  7,  to  hold  the  flat  disk  as  the 
plunger  advances.  Plates  of  this  kind  are  necessary  only 
for  the  cupping  operation,  as  for  all  of  the  succeeding 
draws  the  cup,  or  shell,  is  slipped  over  the  plunger  while 
it  is  in  its  withdrawn  position. 

An  ingenious  method  of  discharging  the  pieces  after 
each  operation  has  been  devised  in  the  simple  form  of 
galvanized-iron  conductor  pipes,  as  shown  at  A,  B  and  C 
in  Fig.  7.  These  convey  the  pieces  to  the  back  of  the 
machine,  where  they  roll  down  a  chute  into  boxes.     As 


Fig.  7.    Bulldozer  Dies  for  the  Cupping  and  First 
Drawing  Operations 


■         j         /  l!i°TappedHoh,t'4fleep 
\  ~£^\  Countersunk  $  deep 


U  4jf  .m\  Rough  turned  Grind  here 


!*■ 

6.87S- — 

|-«-3aS?-*->) 

H* 

lh~4/«*-HE 

A                       1/ 

i  ■ 

u. 

615"— 

-->• 

Sharp  corners  to  be  lapped  off 
31ZDRAW  41 


DRAW 


CUP  IPDRAW  ZtPCRAW 

Fig.  9.    Details  of  the  Plungers  and  Dies  Used  for  Making  18-Lb. 

[78] 


I      "U-3.78<f~*l""\       "\"o's"W-3.740"-p:f\ 
L* 6.75" >J      I* 6.7£"----A 


svorah  6vdraw 

British  Cartridge  Cases 


each  case  passes  through  the  die,  it  pushes  forward  the 
ones  ahead  of  it,  causing  them  to  climb  the  hills  in  the 
pipes. 

The  Planers 

Frog  planers  are  used  for  the  last  two  draws  for 
two  reasons — first,  they  have  a  longer  stroke  than  the 
bulldozers;  second,  they  are  more  accurate.  One  of 
them  is  shown  in  Fig.  10.  A  special  head  has  been 
mounted  on  the  planer  cross-rail,  from  which  the  feed 
screws  have  been  removed,  and  upon  this  the  plunger 
holder  A  is  secured,  the  plunger  B  fitting  into  it  on  a 
standard  taper.  As  shown  at  E,  the  die  is  held  upon  a 
heavily  ribbed  cast-iron  angle-block  which  is  in  one  piece 
with  the  casting  C.  The  whole  thing  weighs  some  four 
or  five  tons  and  serves  not  only  to  secure  the  die-holder, 
but  also  to  prevent  the  table  from  rising. 

Good  Keasoning  Employed 

At  first  thought,  the  natural  plan  would  apparently  be 
to  mount  the  die-holder  upon  the  cross-rail  and  the 
plunger  upon  the  angle-block.  There  is  a  good  reason  for 
the  opposite  procedure,  however,  since  any  lift  that  oc- 
curs during  the  operation  will  undoubtedly  take  place  in 
the  planer  table  and  not  in  the  cross-rail,  which  is  a  rigid 
member.  The  plunger,  on  account  of  its  long  overhang, 
would  be  thrown  out  considerably  by  a  few  thousandths 
of  an  inch  rise  of  the  table;  whereas  the  die,  having  a 
thickness  of  but  2  to  2y2  in.,  is  not  perceptibly  affected, 
as  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  thickness  of  shell  in 


these  cartridge  cases  does  not  vary  over  one-thousandth  of 
an  inch. 

In  determining  the  suitability  for  a  planer  for  the  last 
two  draws,  a  bulldozer  cross-head  was  clamped  upon  a 


Gahaniztd- 
rron  Lining 


Fig.  8.    Lubricant  Tank-Table 

planer  table  and  the  punch  was  put  upon  the  clapper 
block.  After  the  feasibility  of  the  machine  was  demon- 
strated, a  cut  was  taken  off  of  the  table  top  and  one  side 
so  that  they  indicated  to  V10o0  in.  The  die-  and  punch- 
holder  seats  were  then  bored  with  a  long  bar  lined  up 
from  the  table  and  both  holes  finished  at  one  setting. 

Tote  Boxes  and  Lubricant  Tank-Tables 
The  cases  are  transported  in  tote  boxes,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
4.    Four  hundred  cases  are  considered  a  "lot."    To  this, 
10  per  cent,  is  added  as  an  allowance  for  loss,  although 


Fig.  12.    View  in  the  Blacksmith  Shop  Showing  Annealing  Furnaces  and  Metal  Annealing  Baskets 

[79] 


last  issue  were  set  up  in  the  blacksmith's  shop,  a  building 
across  the  way  from  the  cartridge  department.  These 
furnaces  were  built  by  the  Angus  shops  and  are  arranged 
in  groups,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1.  The  baskets  of  hot  cases 
are  handled  from  the  furnaces  to  the  quenching  tanks  by 
mei*ns  of  overhead  swinging  jib  cranes,  which  have  been 
lengthened  somewhat  for  this  purpose. 

Semi-Annealing 

A  heat-treating  operation  known  as  "semi-annealing" 
is  performed  just  before  the  tapering  is  done.  The  fur- 
nace in  which  this  is  accomplished  is  shown  in  Fig.  2. 
Like  all  the  others  at  this  plant,  it  uses  crude  oil  as  fuel. 
The  peculiar  feature  about  the  semi-annealing  operation 


For  dipping  the  product  in  the  washing  tanks,  in  which 
the  cases  are  freed  from  the  lubricant  before  they  go  to 
the  annealing  ovens,  angle-iron  washing  baskets  of  a 
type  similar  to  those  employed  in  the  annealing  furnaces 
illustrated  in  Fig.  12,  page  879,  are  employed. 


r*7 — 


'%6  Diam.  Holes 


u /4" 

Fig.  4.    Second  Tapering  Die 

is  that  the  cases  do  not  come  in  direct  contact  with  the 
flames,  being  placed  inside  of  incandescent  cast-iron  tubes, 
the  ends  of  which  are  clearly  apparent  in  the  illustration. 


Fig.  5.    Indenting  Press 

Very  substantial  wooden  dipping  boxes  are  used  in  the 
acid  tanks.  These  are  shown  in  Fig.  11  and  are  made 
out  of  2-in.  stock.    Two  of  these  lengthwise  fill  one  acid 


Fig.  6.    Group  of  800-Ton  Heading  Presses 


After  coming  from  each  machine  operation  in  which 
a  lubricant  is  used,  the  cartridge  cases  are  washed  in 
boiling  lye  water  to  avoid  excessive  scale  and  smoke  dur- 
ing the  annealing.  In  addition,  each  batch  of  cases 
coming  from  the  annealing  ovens  must  be  pickled  to 
remove  the  scale,  which  would  injure  the  dies.  The  acid 
bath  for  this  purpose  consists  of  8%  parts  sulphuric  acid 
to  20  parts  of  water. 


tank;   they  are  handled   by  means   of  air  hoists   from 
swinging  jibs. 

Piece  Prices  for  Handling  and  Washing 

Even  the  operations  performed  by  laborers  are  worked 
out  and  paid  for  on  a  piece-work  basis,  some  of  the  prices 
being  as  follows : 

"Wash — In  lye  or  water.     Per  100 — 10c. 


[82] 


Wash— In  acid.     Per  100— 20c. 

Trucking — To  or  from  wash  tubs  to  machine  (in  cart- 
ridge department).     Per  lot  of  442 — 20c. 

Trucking — To  or  from  wash  tubs  to  annealing  ovens 
(blacksmith  shop).    Per  lot  of  442 — 45c. 

Annealing  Ovens — Operator  and  four  helpers.  Remove 
from  boxes  and  replace  after  annealed  ready  for  trucking. 
Per  100— 33c. 

Pressing  the  Taper 

One  of  the  most  interesting  operations  in  the  entire 
process  of  making  cartridge  cases  is  that  of  tapering.  This 


-"N 


T> 


Steadu 
Rest  "-- 


ijectinq 
Rod^ 


Fig.  7. 


Taper- 
Chuck 


=e£ 


facing  Tool 


0 


o 


7 

II 


Forminq- 
Tool    y 


£L 


L-tf 


ADrill 


l,Skp 

Counterbore 


S,  Internal  <> 

NeckinqTool  ,_  V\.. 

J  4,Tap  with 

Collapsing  Tap 


Turret  Lathe  Set-Up  for  Finishing  Base 
and  Primer  Hole 


is  done  on  a  bulldozer,  and  the  arrangement  for  this 
work  is  shown  in  Fig.  3.  There  are  two  steps  in  the 
tapering  operation,  both  of  which  are  completed  on  this 
machine.  The  first  taper  is  given  the  case  in  the  die  A. 
After  it  comes  from  this  die,  it  is  further  tapered  and 
finished  in  the  die  B.  The  case  is  inserted  in  each  of  these 
dies  by  hand  and  is  pressed  home  by  means  of  the  cross- 


Fig. 


8.    Engine  Lathe  Pigged  with  Special  Chuck 
and  Tool  Block  for  Finishing  Open  End 


head  of  the  bulldozer.  It  is  ejected  after  the  stroke  is 
completed  by  the  return  of  the  cross-head  through  the 
medium  of  the  pull-back  rods  C,  which  actuate  the  ejector 
plugs  D.  Correct  annealing  for  this  operation  is  a  very 
important  matter,  and  unless  this  is  assured,  there  is  a 
tendency  for  the  case  to  wrinkle.  A  detail  drawing  of 
the  second  tapering  die  is  shown  in.  Fig.  4. 

After  the  tapering  operation,  the  cartridge  case  is  sent 
to  the  turret  lathes  so  that  the  base  and  primer  hole  may 
be  machined.  The  set-up  for  this  work  on  Bertram  tur- 
rets is  shown  in  Fig.  7.  The  production  for  this  operation 
on  these  machines  averages  eight  cases  per  hour. 

The  next  operation  is  known  as  "parallel  turning."  It 
consists  of  cutting  off  the  open  end  of  the  shell  to  proper 


length  and  also  of  thinning  down  the  thickness  of  wall 
on  the  inside  so  that  the  hole  will  pass  a  limit-gage  test. 
This  operation  is  performed  at  the  rate  of  30  per  hour 
on  a  modified  engine  lathe  equipped  with  a  special  tool 
post  and  chuck,  as  shown  in  Figs.  8  and  9.     Both  the  base 


Inside  furninq 
Tool       y 


Breech-Block  \ 
''ype  Threads 


Special  Chuck 


Fig.  9. 


Engine  Lathe  Set-Up  for  Cut-Off  and 
Parallel  Turning 


and  open-end  turning  will  be  done  in  the  near  future 
on  Bullard  cartridge  lathes,  which  handle  the  two  opera- 
tions simultaneously  at  the  rate  of  from  20  to  25  cases 
per  hour. 

An  ingenious  and  time-saving  vise  is  shown  in  Fig.  10. 
It  is  used  at  the  benches  for  retapping  the  primer  hole, 
which  is  purposely  left  a  little  full  in  size  and  brought  to 
full  standard  by  means  of  a  hand  tap.  This  vise  holds  the 
case  on  its  taper  by  friction  and  is  fitted  with  a  quick 
ejector  operated  by  foot  power. 

Methods  of  Inspecting  and  Testing 
The  government  inspectors  carefully  search  for  defec- 
tive shells,  as  a  flaw  in  one  of  these  would  cause  much 


Fig.  10. 


Special  Bench  Vise  for  Holding  Cartridge 
Cases 


injury  to  a  field  gun.  One  of  the  defective  work  reports 
is  shown  in  Fig.  14  and  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  nature 
of  the  defects  as  they  are  classified.  Some  of  them  are 
rectifiable  and  others  cause  the  immediate  and  absolute 
rejection  of  the  case. 

Two  cases  out  of  every  400  are  subjected  to  government 


[83] 


last  issue  were  set  up  in  the  blacksmith's  shop,  a  building 
across  the  way  from  the  cartridge  department.  These 
furnaces  were  built  bv  the  Angus  shops  and  are  arranged 
in  groups,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1.  The  baskets  of  hot  cases 
are  handled  from  the  furnaces  to  the  quenching  tanks  by 
means  of  overhead  swinging  jib  cranes,  which  have  been 
lengthened  somewhat  for  this  purpose. 

Semi-Annealing 

A  heat-treating  operation  known  as  "semi-annealing" 
is  performed  just  before  the  tapering  is  done.  The  fur- 
nace in  which  this  is  accomplished  is  shown  in  Fig.  2. 
Like  all  the  others  at  this  plant,  it  uses  crude  oil  as  fuel. 
The  peculiar  feature  about  the  semi-annealing  operation 


For  dipping  the  product  in  the  washing  tanks,  in  which 
the  cases  are  freed  from  the  lubricant  before  they  go  to 
the  annealing  ovens,  angle-iron  washing  baskets  of  a 
type  similar  to  those  employed  in  the  annealing  furnaces 
illustrated  in  Fig.  12,  page  879,  are  employed. 


f<-; " 


14k 


-----10" ->| 

l3/,6Dlam.  Holes 


Second  Tapering  Die 


is  that  the  cases  do  not  come  in  direct  contact  with  the 
flames,  being  placed  inside  of  incandescent  cast-iron  tubes, 
the  ends  of  which  are  clearly  apparent  in  the  illustration. 


Fig.  5.    Indenting  Press 

Very  substantial  wooden  dipping  boxes  are  used  in  the 
acid  tanks.  These  are  shown  in  Fig.  11  and  are  made 
out  of  2-in.  stock.    Two  of  these  lengthwise  fill  one  acid 


Fig.  6.    Group  of  800-Ton  Heading  Presses 


After  coming  from  each  machine  operation  in  which 
a  lubricant  is  used,  the  cartridge  cases  are  washed  in 
boiling  lye  water  to  avoid  excessive  scale  and  smoke  dur- 
ing the  annealing.  In  addition,  each  batch  of  cases 
coming  from  the  annealing  ovens  must  be  pickled  to 
remove  the  scale,  which  would  injure  the  dies.  The  acid 
bath  for  this  purpose  consists  of  2^2  parts  sulphuric  acid 
to  20  parts  of  water. 


tank;  they  are  handled  by  means  of  air  hoists  from 
swinging  jibs. 

Piece  Prices  for  Handling  and  Washing 

Even  the  operations  performed  by  laborers  are  worked 
out  and  paid  for  on  a  piece-work  basis,  some  of  the  prices 
being  as  follows : 

Wash — In  lye  or  water.     Per  100 — 10c. 


[82] 


Wash— In  acid.     Per  100— 20c. 

Trucking — To  or  from  wash  tubs  to  machine  (in  cart- 
ridge department).     Per  lot  of  442 — 20c. 

Trucking — To  or  from  wash  tubs  to  annealing  ovens 
(blacksmith  shop).    Per  lot  of  442 — 45c. 

Annealing  Ovens— Operator  and  four  helpers.  Eemove 
from  boxes  and  replace  after  annealed  ready  for  trucking. 
Per  100— 33c. 

Pressing  the  Taper 

One  of  the  most  interesting  operations  in  the  entire 
process  of  making  cartridge  cases  is  that  of  tapering.  This 


facing  Tool 


2,Shp 
Counterbore 


£jffi* 


Collapsing  Top 


Fig.  7.     Turret  Lathe  Set-Up  for  Finishing  Base 
and  Primer  Hole 

is  done  on  a  bulldozer,  and  the  arrangement  for  this 
work  is  shown  in  Fig.  3.  There  are  two  steps  in  the 
tapering  operation,  both  of  which  are  completed  on  this 
machine.  The  first  taper  is  given  the  case  in  the  die  A. 
After  it  comes  from  this  die,  it  is  further  tapered  and 
finished  in  the  die  B.  The  case  is  inserted  in  each  of  these 
dies  by  hand  and  is  pressed  home  by  means  of  the  cross- 


Fig.  8.    Engine  Lathe  Eigged  with  Special  Chuck 
and  Tool  Block  for  Finishing  Open  End 

head  of  the  bulldozer.  It  is  ejected  after  the  stroke  is 
completed  by  the  return  of  the  cross-head  through  the 
medium  of  the  pull-back  rods  C,  which  actuate  the  ejector 
plugs  D.  Correct  annealing  for  this  operation  is  a  very 
important  matter,  and  unless  this  is  assured,  there  is  a 
tendency  for  the  case  to  wrinkle.  A  detail  drawing  of 
the  second  tapering  die  is  shown  in -Fig.  4. 

After  the  tapering  operation,  the  cartridge  case  is  sent 
to  the  turret  lathes  so  that  the  base  and  primer  hole  may 
be  machined.  The  set-up  for  this  work  on  Bertram  tur- 
rets is  shown  in  Fig.  7.  The  production  for  this  operation 
on  these  machines  averages  eight  cases  per  hour. 

The  next  operation  is  known  as  "parallel  turning."  It 
consists  of  cutting  off  the  open  end  of  the  shell  to  proper 


length  and  also  of  thinning  down  the  thickness  of  wall 
on  the  inside  so  that  the  hole  will  pass  a  limit-gage  test. 
This  operation  is  performed  at  the  rate  of  30  per  hour 
on  a  modified  engine  lathe  equipped  with  a  special  tool 
post  and  chuck,  as  shown  in  Figs.  8  and  9.     Both  the  base 


Breech -Slock  ■ 
''ype  Threads 


Special  Chuck 


Fig.  9. 


Engine  Lathe  Set-Up  for  Cut-Off  and 
Parallel  Turning 


and  open-end  turning  will  be  done  in  the  near  future 
on  Bullard  cartridge  lathes,  which  handle  the  two  opera- 
tions simultaneously  at  the  rate  of  from  20  to  25  cases 
per  hour. 

An  ingenious  and  time-saving  vise  is  shown  in  Fig.  10. 
It  is  used  at  the  benches  for  retapping  the  primer  hole, 
which  is  purposely  left  a  little  full  in  size  and  brought  to 
full  standard  by  means  of  a  hand  tap.  This  vise  holds  the 
case  on  its  taper  by  friction  and  is  fitted  with  a  quick 
ejector  operated  by  foot  power. 

Methods  of  Inspecting  and  Testing 
The  government  inspectors  carefully  search  for  defec- 
tive shells,  as  a  flaw  in  one  of  these  would  cause  much 


O 


x:z 


O 


^= 


SSSWSSSSS^ 


Fig.  10. 


Special  Bench  Vise  for  Holding  Cartridge 
Cases 


injury  to  a  field  gun.  One  of  the  defective  work  reports 
is  shown  in  Fig.  14  and  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  nature 
of  the  defects  as  they  are  classified.  Some  of  them  are 
rectifiable  and  others  cause  the  immediate  and  absolute 
rejection  of  the  case. 

Two  cases  out  of  every  400  are  subjected  to  government 


[83] 


tests,  which  are  known  as  the  proof  and  firing  tests.  The 
former  is  conducted  by  subjecting  the  shell  to  explosions, 
the  pressures  of  which  are  carefully  measured.  It  may 
be  wondered  how  the  intensity  of  an  explosion  can  be 
measured.  This  is  very  simply  done  by  the  arrangement 
shown  in  Figs.  12  and  13,  which  is  a  device  purposely 
constructed  for  finding  such  pressure. 


Fig.  11.    Wooden  Acid-Dipping  Boxes  and  Dip  Stands 

A  steel  cylinder  A  is  provided  with  a  cap  B  in  which 
the  piston  C  fits  snugly,  its  top  surface  being  exposed  to 
the  air  through  the  cap  B  and  its  lower  surface  resting 
upon  the  soft  copper  plug  D.  In  making  the  proof  test, 
this  apparatus  is  placed  inside  of  the  cordite  within  the 
cartridge  case.  When  the  charge  is  exploded,  the  gas 
pressure,  being  equal  in  all  directions,  presses  upon  the 
plunger  C,  Fig.  12,  with  a  certain  force  per  square  inch, 
which  causes  it  to  compress  the  copper  disk  D,  which  has 
been  carefully  turned  to  a  definite  size  and  the  resistance 


Fig.  12      Proof-Pressuke  Testing  Device      Fig.  13 

of  which  to  compression  is  known.  With  these  factors 
constant,  measuring  the  increase  in  the  diameter  of  the 
disk  gives  a  definite  measure  of  the  intensity  of  the  ex- 
plosion pressure. 

Tensile  Strength  of  the  Brass 
To  stand  up  against  this  severe  service,  the  material 
used  for  making  cartridge  cases  must  be  selected  with 
great  care.     Some  typical  tests  of  the  strength  of  this 
annealed  brass  are  given  below. 


Tensile  strength. 

Elongation  in   2 

tons 

Yield,  Tons 

in.,  per  cent. 

20.1 

5.45 

67 

20.1 

6.38 

70 

20.5 

4.37 

62 

20.6 

6.02 

58.5 

Some  interesting  tests  have  been  made  upon  the  pres- 
sure required  to  perform  the  tapering  operations  on  a 


bulldozer.  For  the  first  operation,  to  press  the  cartridge 
flush  with  the  die  requires  an  average  of  7900  lb.  The 
second  tapering  operation  exceeded  this  greatly,  averaging 
between  19,000  and  20,000  lb.  total  thrust.    The  stripping 


DEFECTIVE  WORK  REPORT. 


Firm. 
LOT 


CARTRIDGE   CASES 


Total  Examined 


RECTIFIABLE 


High  to  Chamber  gauge 

Low  Primer  Hole 

High  to  Plug  Gauge 

High  to  Length 

Low  to  Horse-Sha;  Gauge  for  body 

Low  to  Plug  Gauge 

High  Thickness  of  Metal  at  mouth 

High  Thickness  of  flange 

Toolmarks  on  body  (slight) 

Reclined  &  Passed 


NOT  RECTIFIABLE     High  Primer  Hole 

High  Diameter  top  of  threads 
Low  Thickness  of  Metal  at  mouth 
Low  Thickness  of  flange 
Low  to  Length  (over  .05")     \ 
Toolmarks  in  body  (deepl 
Flaws 

Spilly  Metal 
Spontaneous  Splits 
Damaged  threads 


Rejected 


Fig.  14.    War  Department  Inspector's  Report.  This 

Shows  the  Difference  Between  "Bectifiable" 

and  "Nonrectifiable"  Errors 

of  the  tapered  cartridge  also  takes  considerable  pressure, 
this  varying  from  5320  to  11,000  lb. 

Indenting  and  Heading  Operations 
The  indenting  operation  is  performed  on  a  285-ton 
station-type   hydraulic   press,    a   machine,    incidentally, 
which  was  designed  and  built  at  the  Angus  shops. 

The  cartridge  cases  are  headed  by  means  of  three  800- 
ton  hydraulic  presses,  also  built  at  Angus.  These  are 
shown  in  Fig.  6  and  are  operated  by  two  large  hydraulic 
accumulators  working  at  1500  lb.  per  sq.in.  pressure. 

The  operation  of  these  presses  is  purposely  passed  over 
in  this  article,  as  it  will  be  described  in  the  following  issue 
in  connection  with  a  description  of  their  design  and  con- 
struction. 


Shells 

There  are  two  brass  parts  in  the  shrapnel  shells  made 
in  Canada  and  the  United  States  that  must  be  assembled 
before  the  shell  is  shipped  to  Europe.  These  are,  the 
socket  for  the  fuse  and  the  plug  for  the  nose.  The  plug 
is  merely  used  to  protect  the  thread  until  the  shell  reaches 
the  battle-field  and  receives  its  fuse,  when  it  is  ready  to 
fire. 

The  Canadian  Shell  Committee  advises  that  the  recom- 
mended analysis  for  the  metal  in  these  parts  is :  58  parts 
copper,  40  parts  zinc  and  two  parts  of  lead.  These  pieces 
are  preferably  brass  forgings  pressed  to  shape  under  a 
unit  pressure  of  75  tons  per  sq.in. 

The  specified  physical  tests  are :  Tenacity  at  the  yield 
point,  6  tons  per  sq.in. ;  breaking  stress,  12  tons  per  sq.in. ; 
elongation  in  1  2-in.  specimen,  10  per  cent. 


[84] 


Cartridge  Headimig  Press 
ouiizHMiifetoiFS  s\tt  ttlhe  Aitm 


,mid 


By  John  H.  Vak  Deventer 


SYNOPSIS — In  the  Canadian-Pacific's  process 
of  making  the  18-lb.  British  cartridge  case,  the 
operations  of  heading  and  indenting  are  per- 
formed on  four-station  dial-feed  table  hydraulic 
presses.  These  were  designed  and  built  at  the 
Angus  shops,  as  were  also  the  hydraulic  accumu- 
lators which  operate  them.  The  design,  construc- 
tion and  operation  of  the  800-ton  presses  are 
described  in  this  article,  and  some  interesting  ma- 
chine work  on  the  accumulator  parts  is  shown. 

Apparently  not  contented  with  the  record  of-  making 
a  remarkable  adaptation  of  machines  to  new  purposes, 
the  men  of  the  Angus  shops  undertook  to  design  and 
build  the  high-power  hydraulic  presses  used  for  indent- 
ing and  heading  cartridge  cases.  They  have  not  only 
equipped  their  own  plant  with  these  machines,  but  have 
furnished  a  number  to  other  Canadian  concerns  that  are 
making  the  18-lb.  and  the  4.5-in.  cartridge  cases. 

Description  of  the  800-Ton  Heading  Press    . 
The  presses  used  for  heading  are  built  according  to  the 
design  shown  in  Fig.  1.     The  cast-iron  plunger  of  37 


B  C 

Fig.  3.     Stages  in  Case-Heading  the  18-Lb.  Brass 
Cartridge  Case 

in.  diameter,  shown  at  A,  works  within  a  steel  cylinder 
casting  R.  Water  from  the  accumulator  at  a  pressure 
of  1500  lb.  per  sq.in.  is  admitted  and  discharged  through 
the  cylinder  space  0  by  action  of  the  three-way  valve  F, 
which  is  operated  by  the  foot  lever  E.  (The  press  is 
set  partly  underground  so  that  this  lever  is  at  a  con- 
venient height  for  the  operator's  foot.)  An  equalizing 
passage  H  is  cored  in  the  plunger  in  order  to  make  the 
area  of  the  8-in.  guide  stem  effective.  A  dial  table  C, 
mounted  above  a  stationary  table  M,  is  arranged  to  ro- 
tate upon  a  center  pivot  P.  This  table  carries  four  "sta- 
tions," shown  at  S,  T,  U  and  V.  The  rotating  table  is 
notched  for  indexing,  which  is  accomplished  through  the 
table-operating  lever.  D,  which  forces  a  hardened-steel 
wedge  into  the  locating  notch  on  the  moving  table. 

In  the  main  sectional  view,  the  station  V  is  shown 
directly  underneath  the  punch  B  in  correct  position  for 
heading  a  case.  The  station  S  is  in  the  fourth  posi- 
tion, in  which  the  headed  case  is  ejected.  A  4%-in. 
hydraulic  cylinder^  (shown  more  clearly  in  the  minor 
section)  is  located  immediately  beneath  this  position. 
An  operating  lever  J  actuates  the  three-way  valve  K 
which  controls  the  plunger  in  the  ejecting  cylinder. 
When  this  is  caused  to  rise,  it  pushes  the  cartridge  case 
upward  until  the  flange  of  the  case  is  caught  by  the 
spring  jaws  of  the  stripping  device  0. 


An  enlarged  view  of  the  station  tool-block  is  shown 
in  Fig.  4,  and  reference  to  this  will  be  helpful  before 
taking  up  the  description  of  the  heading  operation.  The 
stationary  punch  A  is  identical  with  B  in  Fig.  2.     The 


Fig.  1.    Sections  and  Plan  of  Four-Station  800-Ton 
Heading  Press 

die  consists  essentially  of  three  parts — the  base  ring  F, 
which  is  bolted  within  the  table-station  block  and  which 
does  not  come  in  contact  with  the  brass  cartridge  case; 
the  upper  ring  E,  which  takes  the  radial  pressure  caused 
by  the  heading  operation;  and  the  internal  die  B,  the  top 


[85] 


of  which  conforms  to  the  shape  of  the  inside  of  the  car- 
tridge base. 

During  the  heading  operation  on  the  station  V,  the 
base  of  the  die  B,  indicated  at  D,  rests  upon  the  top  of 
the  37-in.  plunger,  which  raises  the  entire  dial  table. 
While  this  is  in  its  high  position,  the  ejecting  plunger 
under  the  station  8  is  brought  into  action,  pushing  the 
die  B  upward  within  the  base  ring.  It  will  be  noted 
that  there  is  a  possible  movement  of  by^-m.  for  this, 
which  is  enough  to  eject  the  finished  case  into  the  strip- 
ping device. 

At  tbp.  station  T,  Fig.  1,  is  the  loading  position.  Here 
the  cases  are  inserted  into  the  composite  die,  being  ham- 


shape  of  the  headed  case,  this  depression  being  provided 
in  order  to  spread  the  metal  and  make  the  operation 
easier.  The  third  step,  in  which  this  top  surface  is 
smoothed  out  with  a  fullering  die,  is  shown  at  C.  After 
the  press  has  performed  the  operation  B,  the  table  is 
lowered  and  the  fullering  die  is  inserted  under  the  sta- 
tionary punch,  it  being  provided  with  a  recess  that  fits 
the  protruding  part  of  the  latter  and  centers  the  fuller- 
ing block.  It  is  held  here  by  hand  while  the  work  is 
given  another  squeeze,  which  produces  the  smooth,  flat 
surface  shown  at  C. 

Four  men  are  required  to  operate  one  of  these  presses — 
the  man  in  charge  of  the  gang  operates  the  machine  lev- 


Fig.  2.    Hydraulic  Station-Type  Heading  Press  fok  18-Lb.  Cases 


mered  down  with  a  block  of  wood,  when  necessary.    The 
station  U  is  an  idle  position. 

At  B  in  Fig.  2  is  shown  one  of  the  800-ton  heading 
presses,  with  the  cartridge  case  ejected  and  caught  by 
the  stripping  device.  The  table  station  shown  at  A  in 
this  view  represents  that  in  which  the  actual  heading  is 
done.  At  C  is  shown  the  fullering  die,  to  which  refer- 
ence will  be  made  later. 

The  Process  of  Heading 

The  process  of  heading  as  done  at  Angus,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  3.  The  case  as  it  comes  to  the  heading  press  is 
shown  at  A.  The  first  pressing  operation,  shown  at  B, 
partially  heads  the  cartridge,  but  leaves  a  depression  in 
its  central  part,  as  shown  at  E.     This  is  not  the  final 


ers;  one  of  the  others  takes  care  of  the  loading  station; 
another  holds  the  fullering  die  in  the  pressing  opera- 
tion and  a  third  helper  takes  the  extracted  shell  from 
the  stripper  and  places  it  in  the  tote  box.  The  entire 
time  for  the  operation  is  approximately  1%  minute. 

The  full  capacity  of  the  press  appears  to  be  required 
to  take  care  of  the  leading  operations. 

The  Problem  of  160,000  Lb.  to  the  Square  Inch 

Eeferring  to  the  internal  die,  Fig.  4,  a  little  calcula- 
tion will  show  that  extremely  high  unit  pressures  were 
encountered  in  this  work.  The  projected  area  of  the 
inside  of  the  base  of  the  cartridge  case  is  approximately 
10  sq.in.,  and  the  pressure  exerted  in  the  operation  is 
a  full  800  tons,  which  means  160,000  lb.  to  the  square 


[86] 


inch  of  internal  die  surface.  The  problem  was  to  get 
metal  to  stand  up  under  this  enormous  unit  pressure.  At 
first  the  die  was  made  of  high-grade  tool  steel,  hard- 
ened as  is  usual  for  a  tool  of  this  kind,  but  this  was 
not  satisfactory,  for  it  upset  the  metal  in  the  internal 
die  and  soon  rendered  it  unfit  for  use.  The  hardening 
had  not  penetrated  entirely  through,  and  the  soft  inte- 
rior had  caused  the  whole  die  to  compress. 

After  a  great  deal  of  thought  had  been  given  to  the 
matter,  the  internal  die  was  made  up  of  laminated 
pieces,  most  of  these  being  of  the  size  shown  at  C.  These 
were  made  of  120.0  carbon  steel  and  hardened  glass-hard, 
care  being  taken  to  see  that  the  hardness  was  not  skin 
deep,  but  penetrated  entirely  through.  The  theory 
worked  upon  was  that  there  is  practically  no  limit  to  the 


i  &roove  for~ 
4  Wire  Nana '/e\ 


at 


Material-  Tempered  Cast  Steel 
FULLERING  BLOCK 


5? 

Tool 'Steel  hardened  all  over 

-> 

k 

t 

-.-                   5' 

TOP  TOOL 

> 

\. 

Details  of  Heading  Punch  and  Composite 
Dies  Showing  Laminations 


safe  compression  load  on  metal  as  long  as  it  is  unyielding, 
this  quality  being  secured  by  the  glass-hardening  process. 
Apparently  there  is  something  to  this  theory,  for  it 
has  worked  out  successfully,  although  the  upper  part  of 
the  die  B  occasionally  has  to  be  replaced. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  construction,  which 
originated  at  the  Angus  shops,  has  been  adopted  in  some 
of  the  machines  of  American  make  now  being  installed 
in  Canada. 

The  indenting  of  the  cartridge  case  is  carried  out  in 
a  press  somewhat  similar  to  that  used  for  heading,  but 
requires  much  less  force,  the  comparatively  slight  pres- 
sure of  280  tons  being  sufficient  for  this  work. 

The  punch  and  die  used  in  indenting  are  shown  in 
Fig.  6.  At  A  is  the  section  of  the  shell  as  it  comes  to 
the  press,  while  B  shows  the  indenting  operation  com- 


pleted and  also  the  construction  of  the  punch  and  com- 
pound die,  which  are  quite  similar  to  those  used  foi 
heading. 

The  Hydraulic  Accumulatoes 

Just  as  undertaking  the  job  of  making  cartridge 
cases  on  planers  and  bulldozers  seemed  to  entail  the 
building  of  hydraulic  presses,  so  this  latter  task  brought 


a  B 

Fig.  6.     Punch  and  Die  Used  in  Indenting 

forth  the  necessity  of  building  hydraulic  accumulators 
with  which  to  operate  them.  Two  of  these  have  been 
built  and  erected  at  Angus  up  to  the  present  time,  a 
view  of  one  of  them  being  shown  in  the  background  of 
Fig.  2,  page  834. 

These  accumulators  consist  of  sheet-iron  tanks  filled 
with  pieces  of  scrap  steel  and  the  like  and  mounted  on 
cast-iron  cylinders  which  slide  up  and  down  on  cast- 
iron  rams  mounted  on  substantial  bases.  As  work  of 
this  length  is  scarce  in  a  railroad  shop,  no  pits  were 


Fig.  7.    A  Lathe  Job  that  Was  Mostly  Overhung 

available  in  which  to  cast  the  pieces  in  a  vertical  posi- 
tion. It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  cast  them  horizon- 
tally. Care  was  taken  to  provide  risers  of  a  size  which 
would  insure  clean  metal  in  the  cope.  Five  7-in.  risers 
were  cut  in  the  cylinder  mold,  which  was  gated  with 
horn  gates  at  both  ends.  There  was  no  time  for  the 
full  drying  of  these  molds,  which  were  skin-dried  with  a 
torch  to  about  %  in.  depth.  This,  in  connection  with 
the  necessity  of  pouring  from  each  end,  made  it  rather 


z^ 


Vvs.v//////////////>Jd/////////////;////w/J>7w/A 


y //;.'///;;/,  ■////////;/, 


E 


M%&t«WM«/aaz& 


S.TZ 


Fig.  9. 


///////////////////^//////////////y^////////////A 


Boring  Accumulator  Cylinder  on  Bertram 
Horizontal  Machine 


difficult  to  avoid  a  wash.  The  cylinders  and  rams  were 
made  of  20  per  cent,  steel  mixture.  The  excessive  length 
of  the  cylinders  and  rams  in  these  accumulators  devel- 
oped some  interesting  kinks  as  they  passed  through  the 
machine  shop.  For  example,  no  lathe  in  the  shop  had 
a  long  enough  bed  to  swing  the  ram  between  centers. 


[87] 


When  placed  in  the  most  suitable  machine  for  this  pur- 
pose, it  overhung  a  distance  of  almost  9  ft.,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  7.  A  large,  thin  bushing,  shown  at  C,  was  drilled 
and  provided  with  a  number  of  setscrews  and  served  as 
a  spider,  running  in  a  wooden  saddle  A,  which  is  more 
clearly  shown  in  Fig.  8. 

The.  weight  of  this  job  was  10  tons,  over  one-half  of  it 
coming  upon  the  comparatively  small 
area  of  the  wooden  saddle,  which 
caught  fire  from  time  to  time  and  thus 
offered  difficulty  until  some  genius 
thought  of  turning  the  hose  on  it. 
Grease  was  plentifully  used  as  a  lubri- 
cant. By  means  of  this  crude  device,  a 
ram  was  produced  which,  when  careful- 
ly inspected,  was  equal  to  what  might 
have  been  the  result  of  using  a  machine 
especially  adapted  for  the  purpose. 

Another  problem  was  that  of  boring 
the  accumulator  cylinder,  which  was 
handled  as  shown  in  Fig.  9.  A  wire 
was  first  run  from  the  center  of  the 
boring  spindle  to  a  point  on  the  shop 
wall,  which  was  carefully  marked,  then 
the  casting  was  placed  upon  the  ma- 
chine, the  wire  inserted  through  the 
core  hole  and  re-located  according  to 
the  mark  previously  established.  The 
cylinder  was  then  lined  up  from 
this  wire,  and  the  boring  proceeded. 
It  was  necessary  to  maintain  a  very 
true  hole,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
boring  bar  was  overhung  a  distance  of 
four  feet. 

Accuracy  in  this  was  aided  by  the 
shape  of  the  cutters  in  the  cutter  head, 
shown  at  A.     Clearance  was  ground 


on  the  front,  or  cutting  edge,  the  back  being  ground  to  a 
radius  equal  to  the  finished  cut,  causing  the  cutters  to 
act  as  follow-rests  within  the  hole. 

Taking  it  all  in  all,  from  hay  presses  to  hydraulic  ac- 
cumulators, the  Angus  shops  have  had  their  share  of 
unusual  work  during  the  last  nine  months.  They  have 
a  great  many  achievements  to  be  proud  of  and,  not  the 


Fig.  5.    Hydraulic  Heading  Press  for  4.5  Cartridge  Cases 


least  of  these   is  their  practical   demonstration   of  the 
adaptability  of  railroad  machinery  and  mechanics. 


Fig.  8.     Wooden   Saddle  Used  to   Support 
Accumulator  Ram 


Madhnialsil  Adveiritasliag| 
Code 

1.  No  misstatement  of  any  kind  can  appear  in  the 
American  Machinist. 

2.  No  gross  exaggeration  can  appear. 

3.  The  name  or  address  of  a  competitor  cannot  be  men- 
tioned in  an  advertisement. 

4.  No  advertisement  of  any  product  (or  services)  that 
cannot  be  used  to  advantage  in  a  machine  shop  can  be 
inserted  in  the  American  Machinist. 

5.  We  reserve  the  right  to  refuse  the  advertising  of  any 
concern,  if  in  our  judgment  the  product  is  not  ready  to 
be  marketed,  or  if  the  would-be  advertiser  is  not  finan- 
cially able  to  continue  advertising  long  enough  to  make 
his  investment  worth  while. 


[88] 


Tfin©'  MairM&faetoiriiinig  of  (CMiri 

Cases 


Special  Correspondence 


SYNOPSIS — The  manufacture  of  a  cartridge-case 
for  a  6-in.  rapid-fire  gun  involves  a  number  of 
exceedingly  interesting  press  operations,  requiring 
the  evolution  of  a  disk  14V4  in.  diameter  cut  from 
sheet  brass  %  in.  thick  into  a  tube  41^2  in.  long 
by  6  in.  diameter,  with  thin  walls  and  closed  at 
one  end  with  metal  as  thick  as  or  thicker  than  the 
original  disk. 

The  development  of  the  modern  rapid-fire  gun  has  been 
made  possible  through  the  invention  some  60  years  ago 
of  metallic  cartridge-eases.  For  guns  up  to  3-in.  caliber, 
the  projectile,  propelling  charge,  and  primer  are  handled 
as  a  unit.  From  3-  to  6-in.  caliber,  the  projectile  and  pro- 
pelling charge  as  a  rule  are  separate. 


shape)  that  the  metal  undergoes  at  each  operation  is  de- 
termined by  what  it  will  stand  without  rupture  or  other 
defect  which  would  interfere  with  the  production  of  a 
perfect  case..  Each  drawing  operation  is  of  necessity-  fol- 
lowed by  an  annealing  operation  to  restore  the  metal  to  its 
former  ductile  state.  The  annealing  operation  is  a  heat 
treatment  between  certain  limits  of  temperature,  after 
which  the  work  is  cooled  either  rapidly  or  slowly,  which- 
ever is  found  to  be  most  convenient;  the  speed  of  cooling 
does  not  affect  the  physical  properties  of  the  metal.  An- 
nealing temperatures  vary  from  about  1150  deg.  F.  to 
about  1200  deg.  F.,  depending  on  the  thickness  of  the 
work. 

The  following  description  of  the  manufacture  of  6-in. 
cartridge-cases  is  an  abstract  of  a  paper  by  Col.  Leandro 
Cubillo  and  Archibald  P.  Head,  read  before  the  Institu- 


Fig.  1.    Types  of  Vertical  Presses  for  3-In.  Cartridge-Cases 


In  Fig.  1  are  shown  three  vertical  presses,  and  in  Fig. 
2,  a  horizontal  press  similar  to  those  used  at  the  Govern- 
ment Arsenal,  Washington,  D.  C,  for  manufacturing  3-in. 
cartridge-cases. 

For  the  cases,  brass  has  beep  found  the  most  suitable 
metal;  a  satisfactory  composition  consists  of  67  per  cent, 
copper  and  33  per  cent.  zinc.  In  its  annealed  state  this 
alloy  has  an  elastic  limit  of  about  10,000  lb.  tensile 
strength  of  about  45,000  lb.,  elongation  of  about  65  per 
cent,  and  reduction  in  area  of  about  30  per  cent. 

This  metal  cannot  be  worked  hot,  but  is  subjected  to  a 
series  of  cold  drawings  which  harden  it  and  make  it  brit- 
tle.    The   amount  of   deformation    (from   the  previous 


tion  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  Oct.  20,  1905.  The  meth- 
ods and  tools  used  were  devised  by  Oberlin  Smith,  presi- 
dent of  the  Ferracute  Machine  Co.,  of  Bridgeton,  N.  J., 
and  are  practically  the  same  as  those  used  today.  In  the 
plant  where  these  cases  were  made,  hydraulically  actuated 
presses  were  used  for  many  of  the  operations.  How- 
ever, the  type  of  press  supplying  the  power  is  of  little  con- 
sequence; all  other  things  equal,  sufficient  power  and 
stroke  for  a  given  operation  are  the  essentials. 

The  entire  manufacture  of  metallic  cartridge-cases  in- 
volves a  series  of  operations  which,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few,  consist  in  cold-drawing.  After  being  formed  into 
a  cup-shaped  disk,  the  metal  is  subjected  to  successive 


[89] 


drawings,  the  object  of  which  is  to  diminish  the  diame- 
ter and  thickness  and  to  increase  the  length  until  the  de- 
sired form  is  obtained;  namely,  a  long  cylinder,  closed 
at  one  end,  with  side  walls  very  thin  at  the  open  end  and 
tapering  to  a  considerably  greater  thickness  where  they 
join  the  still  thicker  end  wall.  During  these  operations 
the  volume  undergoes  no  appreciable  alteration. 

The  earlier  operations,  while  the  cartridge-case  is  still 
short,  are  carried  out  in  a  vertical  press,  but  when  the 
length  is  such  that  the  manipulation  and  the  withdrawal 
of  the  punch  become  difficult,  the  operations  are  sometimes 
continued  in  horizontal  presses.  The  two  most  important 
tools  are  the  punch  and  the  die.  The  punch  is  carried 
upon  the  extremity  of  the  ram  of  the  press  and  transmits 
the  power  acting  upon  the  bottom  of  the  cartridge-case, 
which  is  inserted  in  the  larger  end  of 
the  die.  The  die  consists  of  a  ring  of 
hardened  and  tempered  steel,  the  in- 
terior having  the  shape  of  a  truncated 
cone  and  the  axis  being  in  line  with  that 
of  the  punch.  The  operation  of  draw- 
ing is  performed  by  centering  a  partly 
drawn  case  in  the  large  end  of  the  die 
and  advancing  the  punch  until  it 
touches  the  bottom  of  the  cup.  The 
pressure  then  comes  into  play  forcing 
the  cup  through  the  small  end  of  the 
die  and  thereby  reducing  the  diameter 
of  the  cup  and  the  thickness  of  the  wall 
and  increasing  the  length,  a  process 
which  involves  flow  of  metal.  As  the 
walls  of  the  case  are  squeezed  thinner,  it  is  an  interesting 
sight  to  see  them  crawling  upward  upon  the  sides  of  the 
descending  punch. 

Cupping 

The  brass  disks  A  for  the  6-in.  cartridge-cases,  Fig.  3, 
are  14.2  in.  in  diameter  and  0.67  in.  thick,  with  an  allow- 
able variation  of  thickness  of  0.02  in.  above  or  below. 
They  weigh  33  lb.  each,  and  should  have  a  smooth  sur- 
face with  clean-cut  edges. 

The  cutting  of  such  blanks  can  be  performed  with  the 
cutting  tools  shown  at  B. 

For  convenience  the  cupping  is  done  in  two  stages  with 
the  punches  and  dies  shown  at  C  and  D.  The  stroke  of  the 
punch  is  adjusted  so  that  the  cup  is  thrust  just  clear  of 
the  small  end  of  the  die.  The  die,  punch  and  disk  are 
greased,  and  the  disk  is  placed  on  the  top  of  the  die.  The 
press  is  tripped  and  the  punch  advances,  forcing  the  disk 
through  the  die  and  out  at  the  smaller  end.  On  the  re- 
turn of  the  ram  the  cup  is  stripped  from  the  punch  and 
allowed  to  fall  into  a  receptacle. 

The  cup  then  has  a  steel  clip  placed  around  it  and  is 
annealed  for  about  28  min.  at  1164  deg.  F.  The  scale 
formed  in  the  annealing  operation  is  removed  by  pickling 
in  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  The  cups  are  then  washed  to 
remove  every  trace  of  acid.  The  second  cupping  operation 
is  made  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  first.  The  sub- 
sequent annealing  lasts  20  min.  at  a  temperature  of  1202 
deg.  F.  The  pickling  and  washing  processes  which  follow 
this  and  all  other  annealings  are  as  before  described.  The 
behavior  of  the  metal  during  cupping  is  an  efficient  test 
of  its  quality.  The  presence  of  impurities  or  improper 
annealing  is  quickly  shown  by  cracks  or  a  roughened 
surface. 


Drawing  Operations 

At  E  are  shown  the  punch  and  die  used  in  the  first 
drawing  operation,  also  the  resulting  shell.  The  shells 
are  annealed  at  1202  deg.  F.  for  28  min. 

The  second  drawing  is  performed  with  the  tools  shown 
at  F.  The  subsequent  annealing  is  at  1202  deg.  F.  for  26 
min. 

The  third  drawing  is  performed  with  the  tools  shown 
at  G.     The  annealing  is  at  1184  deg.  F.  for  15  min. 

Before  the  fourth  drawing,  the  bottom  of  the  piece 
is  flattened  preparatory  to  indenting,  which  takes  place 
after  the  fifth  drawing  and  is  necessary  for  the  forma- 
tion of  the  primer  hole.  Flattening  is  accomplished  by 
pressing  the  piece  between  the  punch  and  a  flat  steel  disk 
which  takes  the  place  of  the  die.    After  this  operation  the 


Fig.  2.     Horizontal  Press  for  3-In.  Cartridge-Cases 


fourth  drawing  proceeds  as  usual  with  the  tools  shown 
at  H.  The  subsequent  annealing  is  at  1166  deg.  F.  for 
22  min. 

The  fifth  drawing  is  the  last  drawing  operation  per- 
formed in  the  vertical  press.  The  tools  used  are  shown 
at  I.    The  annealing  is  at  1166  deg.  F.  for  20  min. 

Indenting  for  the  Primer 

The  indenting  operation  is  done  in  a  vertical  press.  A 
hinged  anvil  J  is  secured  to  the  front  of  the  base  of  the 
press  and  in  line  with  the  center  of  the  ram.  The  anvil 
has  the  same  exterior  form  as  the  interior  of  the  cartridge- 
case  after  the  fifth  drawing,  and  has  an  indentation  at  the 
top.  It  is  hinged  to  facilitate  the  insertion  and  with- 
drawal of  the  cartridge-case  /.  In  the  ram  of  the  press 
is  secured  a  punch  K  with  a  projection  in  the  center.  This 
and  the  recess  in  the  anvil  form  in  the  case  the  boss  for 
the  primer.    No  annealing  is  done  after  indenting. 

Subsequent  Drawing  Operations 

From  this  operation  onward  horizontal  presses  are 
often  used,  because  the  length  which  the  cartridge-cases 
have  now  attained  may  not  permit  of  their  manipulation 
in  a  shorter-stroke  vertical  press— unless  indeed  its  stroke 
is  made  longer  than  usual. 

The  tools  used  for  the  sixth  drawing  are  shown  at  L. 
Up  to  this  point  the  cartridge-cases  have  been  able  to 
strip  themselves  from  the  punches  by  catching  on  the  un- 
derside of  the  dies.  But  from  the  sixth  drawing  onward, 
other  means  of  stripping  are  adopted.  Under  each  die  is 
an  attachment  containing  eight  fingers  pressed  inward 
toward  the  axis  by  springs.  During  the  drawing  they 
give  way  before  the  advancing  case,  retiring  into  recesses. 
But  when  the  end  of  the  case  has  passed  them  they  spring 


[90] 


on*  * 


KfDRAWINO 


^HEADING 


SECTION  Z-Z 
AT(T) 


TAPERING 


Fio.  3.    Details  and  Sequence  of  Operations  in  Drawing  Cartridge-Cases 


[91] 


out  and  keep  the  case  from  following  the  punch  back, 
the  inclination  of  the  recesses  in  which  they  move  assist- 
ing this  action.  The  annealing  following  this  drawing 
is  at  1166  deg.  F.  for  18  min. 

The  tools  used  for  the  seventh  drawing  operation  are 
shown  at  M.    The  annealing  is  at  1166  deg.  F.  for  15  min. 

The  tools  used  for  the  eighth  drawing  operation  are 
shown  at  N,    The  annealing  is  at  1112  deg.  F.  for  14 


mm. 


The  tools  used  for  the  ninth  drawing  operation  are 
shown  at  N.    The  annealing  is  at  1112  deg.  F.  for  14 


mm. 


The  tools  used  for  the  tenth  drawing  operation  are 
shown  at  P.  This  is  the  last  drawing  operation,  and 
the  blanks  undergo  no  annealing  upon  its  completion. 

Heading 

The  total  pressure  which  the  head  of  the  cartridge  is 
called  upon  to  stand  under  fire  is  enormous.  With  the 
6-in.  quick-firing  gun  using  these  cartridge-cases  the  pres- 
sure caused  by  the  explosion  is  some  38,000  lb.  per  sq.in. 
This  pressure  is  exceeded  by  about  15  per  cent,  when  test- 
ing the  guns.  When  the  area  of  the  cartridge-case  head  is 
considered,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  enormous 
aggregate  pressure  to  which  it  is  subjected.  It  is  essential 
for  the  satisfactory  working  of  the  guns  that  no  de- 
formation should  take  place  under  fire,  and  it  is  therefore 
important  that  during  manufacture  the  head  should  be 
subjected  to  a  pressure  two  or  three  times  that  likely 
to  be  experienced  in  practice. 

The  operation  of  forming  the  head  is  made  in  a  vertical 
2500-ton  press  in  three  stages.  The  tools  used  for  the  first 
stage  are  shown  at  Q.  An  iron  casting  A  is  placed  upon 
the  ram  of  the  press  and  serves  to  support  the  die-holder 
and  die  B,  which  form  the  flange  on  the  shell.  Inside 
the  bolster  is  fixed  a  steel  stem  G  over  which  the  cart- 
ridge-case is  slipped  in  the  condition  in  which  it  leaves 
the  tenth  drawing.  This  stem  is  made  of  hardened  steel 
and  must  be  capable  of  withstanding  an  aggregate  pres- 
sure of  1650  tons.  The  first  heading  operation  is  per- 
formed by  inserting  the  cartridge-case  between  the  stem 
and  the  bolster.  Upon  the  top  is  also  placed  the  punch  D 
of  hard  steel,  provided  with  a  central  depression,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  is  to  reduce  the  area  of  contact  over  which 
pressure  is  exerted  on  the  head  of  the  cartridge-case.  The 
total  pressure  is  1600  tons,  which  leaves  the  head  with 
a  central  internal  and  external  projection,  and  forces  the 
metal  outward  to  form  a  flange. 

At  R  is  shown  the  second  heading  operation.  This  is 
performed  with  the  same  tools  as  the  first,  except  that  a 
3-in.  diameter  punch  instead  of  the  punch  D  previously 
used  is  placed  over  the  cartridge-case.  A  total  pressure 
of  600  tons  is  exerted,  with  the  result  that  the  outside 
projection  is  flattened  and  all  the  metal  is  driven  into 
the  internal  boss,  thus  allowing  sufficient  metal  for  the 
primer  holes.  Finally,  the  third  heading  operation  is 
performed  with  the  tools  shown  at  S,  a  total  pressure  of 
1650  tons  being  applied,  with  the  result  that  the  head  is 
rendered  flat  and  shapely. 

Tapering 

The  tapering  operation  is  for  the  purpose  of  giving  to 
the  cartridge-case  its  final  external  form,  enabling  it  to  fit 
the  chamber  of  the  gun  and  to  be  easily  inserted  and  with- 
drawn.    It  is  performed  in  a  horizontal  press.     To  the 


fixed  head  H  of  the  press  at  T  is  bolted  the  cast- 
iron  bolster  A,  inside  of  which  are  placed  the  seven 
rings  B  of  tempered  steel.  The  internal  length  of 
these,  when  thus  assembled,  is  exactly  equal  to  that 
of  the  gun  chamber.  The  cartridge-case  is  driven 
into  this  space  by  the  press.  As  it  is  necessary  forci- 
bly to  extract  it  after  the  operation,  the  special  ap- 
paratus shown  is  made  use  of.  The  cylindrical  ex- 
tractor C,  having  a  head  shaped  to  fit  the  inside  of  the 
headed  cartridge-case,  is^  connected  rigidly  with  the  ram 
of  the  press  through  the  crossheads  D  and  F  and  the  tie- 
rods  E,  and  moves  therewith,  its  position  being  kept 
central  by  the  guide  /.  The  punch  O,  bolted  to  the  ram  of 
the  press,  forces  the  cartridge-case  in  during  the  forward 
stroke,  while  the  extractor  C  forces  it  out  during  the  re- 
turn stroke. 

In  some  factories  tapering  is  divided  into  two  opera- 
tions with  annealing  between,  to  avoid  risk  of  crack- 
ing. Before  the  first  tapering  the  cartridge-case  is  an- 
nealed at  1040  deg.  F.,  care  being  taken  to  keep  the  head 
outside  the  furnace  in  the  air  so  that  it  will  not  be  an- 
nealed. It  is  then  placed  in  the  press  and  forced  about 
one-half  its  length  into  the  chamber,  the  precaution  be- 
ing taken  to  adjust  the  stop  of  the  press  to  limit  the 
stroke  to  one-half  its  usual  length.  On  the  return  stroke, 
by  the  aid  of  a  wooden  distance-piece  inserted  between 
the  extractor  and  the  head  of  the  cartridge-case,  the  case 
is  forced  out.  It  is  then  returned  to  the  vertical  anneal- 
ing furnace,  where  it  is  exposed  to  a  temperature  of  932 
deg.  F.,  care  being  taken,  as  before,  not  to  anneal  the  head. 
Tapering  is  then  completed  in  the  press,  the  cartridge- 
case  being  driven  completely  home  into  the  die  chamber.' 

Other  Mechanical  Operations 

The  remaining  operations  are  of  a  mechanical  nature, 
such  as  cutting  to  length,  turning  the  end,  the  head, 
the  steps-  in  the  chamber,  and  the  attachment  for  the 
primer.  Throughout  the  whole  course  of  manufacture 
the  thickness  and  diameter  of  the  cartridge-cases  are  care- 
fully checked  with  calipers  and  gages,  particularly  the 
first  two  or  three  cases  in  each  lot,  to  verify  the  accuracy 
of  the  dies  and  the  setting  of  the  tools.  The  ends  of  the 
cases  are  frequently  turned  to  length  between  the  various 
drawing  operations,  since  there  is  a  tendency,  due  to  ir- 
regularities of  the  metal  or  to  uneven  annealing,  to  stretch 
unequally,  leaving  ragged  edges.  It  is  also  of  great  im- 
portance that  the  thickness  of  the  end  of  the  cartridge- 
case  should  be  closely  checked,  and  this  is  performed  by 
limit  gages.  Lubrication  of  the  punches  and  dies  is  ef- 
fected by  olive  oil  or  soapy  water,  according  to  the  stage 
in  the  process. 

In  the  manufacture  of  cases  for  3-in.  shrapnel,  cutting 
and  cupping  are  done  on  a  press  similar  to  that  shown 
at  the  left  in  Fig.  1.  The  production  would  be  about 
9600  in  eight  hours.  Four  drawing  operations  follow 
on  a  somewhat  similar  press,  but  one  with  a  greater 
stroke.  Such  a  press  on  this  work  would  produce  4800 
of  any  of  the  four  operations  in  eight  hours.  Indenting 
is  done  on  the  press  in  the  center  of  Fig.  1,  but  it  is 
equipped  with  a  swinging-post  anvil  instead  of  the  table 
shown.  The  production  would  be  about  9600  in  eight 
hours.  Two  drawing  operations  follow  on  the  horizontal 
press  shown  in  Fig.  2.  These  are  performed  at  the  rate  of 
about  1500  in  eight  hours.  It  will  be  observed  that  these 
3-in.  cases  do  not  require  as  many  draws  as  the  6-in.  cases. 


[92] 


rapmel   BlanKs 
tb  aimed  B^illdo^ers 


By  E.  A.  Suverkrop 


SYNOPSIS— At  the  Turcot  works  of  the  Cana- 
dian Car  &  Foundry  Co.,  Ltd.,  Montreal, 
Canada,  1200  shell  blanks  are  forged  every  2J+ 
hours.  The  work  is  done  on  machines  formerly 
used  for  forging  railway-car  parts  and,  except- 
ing punches,  dies  and  similar  accessories,  no 
money  has  been  spent  on  special  equipment. 

Should  the  reader  turn  to  page  889,  Vol.  42,  of  the 
American  Machinist  and  compare  the  illustration  on 
that  page  with  Fig.  1  of  this  article,  he  would  be  likely  to 
remark :  "After  showing  how  a  shell  blank  can  be  forged  in 
three  operations  what's  the  use  of  showing  how  it  may  be 
done  in  seven  ?"  The  answer  is :  "Because  in  this  shop  not 
one  penny  has  been  spent  for  new  machines.  The  bull- 
dozers and  steam  hammers  which  have  for  years  done 
the  heavy  forging  work  for  railroad  cars  have  been 
equipped  with  the  necessary  punches  and  dies  and  put 
to  work  on  the  shell  job.  Further,  the  method  of 
handling  the  work  differs  considerably  from  that  set 
forth  in  the  previous  article. 

Cutting  Off  the  Blanks 
In  this  shop  the  cutting  of  the  blank  shown  at  A, 
Fig.  1,  is  done  hot.  The  bar  stock  is  received  from  the 
mill  cut  to  lengths  which  are  an  exact  multiple  of  5^ 
in.,  the  length  of  A.  With  the  shearing  method  there 
is  no  kerf  to  allow  for,  and  should  the  last  blank  on  a 
bar  be  too  short  to  use  for  a  forging,  it  is  a  solid  chunk 
of  scrap  steel  readily  salable  at  a  much  better  price  than 
cuttings  from  a  cold-saw. 

The  bars,  approximately  6  ft.  long,  are  heated  4  to 
6  at  a  time  in  the  furnace  A,  Fig.  2.  Above  is  a  rail 
running  to  the  Acme  forging  machine  B  and  carrying 
a  trolley  and  rope  block  and  fall  for  handling  the  bars 
to  and  from  the  furnace  and  machine. 

The  dies  for  cutting  off  are  arranged  as  shown  in 
Fig.  8,  so  that  two  blanks  are  cut  each  time  the  machine 


is  tripped  and  completes  its  cycle  of  operation.  Three 
men  make  up  the  gang.  The  equipment  under  their 
care  is  the  furnace  A,  and  forging  machine  B,  Fig.  2, 
and  the  steam  hammer  in  Fig.  4.  Their  work  consists 
of  simply  cutting  off  the  blanks  A  and  upsetting  them. 


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i    '  l!     , 

v 

\ 

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r~  " 

- 

Fig.  3.    Cutting  Off 

A  bar  C,  Fig.  2,  when  properly  heated,  is  hung  by  a 
clamp  from  the  rope  blocks  and  run  over  to  the  forging 
machine.  One  man  carries  up  the  weight  while  the 
other  guides  the  bar  into  the  dies  and  trips  the  machine 
with  his  left  foot,  all  as  shown  in  Fig.  3.     The  machine 


Fig.  1.    From  the  Blank  to  the  Trimmed  Shell 

[93] 


runs  about  40  strokes  per  minute,  but  cutting  off  is 
done  at  the  rate  of  8  to  10  pieces  per  minute,  which  is 
of  course  faster  than  the  work  can  be  heated  for  a  con- 
tinuous run.  The  daily  output  on  this  operation  is 
1200  pieces. 

In  Fig.  8  are  shown  diagrammatically  the  cutting- 
off  dies  used  in  the  Acme  forging  machine. 

The  fixed  holding  dies  A  are  secured  to  the  housing 
D  of  the  machine.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  lower  dies 
are  5f*ff  in.  deep  and  are  spaced  5T\  in.  from  the  upper 
dies,  both  these  measurements  being  equal  to  the  length 
of  the  blank.  The  movable  holding  dies  B  are  similar 
in  all  respects  to  the  fixed  dies  A.  The  operation  is  as 
follows : 

The  red-hot  bar  is  lowered  till  its  end  strikes  the 
bottom  E.  The  machine  is  then  tripped,  and  the  two 
movable  holding  dies  B  advance  and  clamp  the  bar  in 
the  fixed  dies  A.  The  shearing  die  C  then  advances  and 
shears  a  blank  out  of  the  space  between  the  upper  and 
lower  dies  A,  leaving  a  similar  blank  in  the  lower  dies 
A  and  B.  On  the  return  of  the  slides  to  open  position, 
the  two  sheared  blanks  are  removed  by  the  operator  and 
the  process  repeated. 

The  life  of  the  holding  dies  A  and  B  has  so  far  not 
been  determined.  They  have  been  in  the  machine,  run- 
ning day  and  night  for  two  months,  and  are  still  in  good 
condition.  One  shearing  die  C  has  been  replaced  in  this 
time. 

Upsetting  the  Blanks 

On  removal  of  the  sheared  blanks  from  the  machine, 
the  operator  throws  them  to  the  hammerman,  who  takes 
the  hot  blank  and,  placing  it  near  the  center  of  the 
anvil,  brings  the  head  down  slowly  to  center  it  with 
relation  to  the  die  in  the  hammer  head.  From  two  to 
four  sharp  blows  with  the  hammer  shape  it  to  the  form 


the  die.  In  Fig.  9  is  shown  the  upsetting  die  without  the 
dovetail  dimensions  for  fitting  to  the  hammer,  as  these 
would  vary  for  different  hammers. 

The  upsetting  is  done  without  reheating,  direct  from 
the  shearing  operation  and  by  the  same  gang  of  men,  so 
that  each  shift  handles  600  pieces  sheared  and  the  same 
pieces  upset — 1200  handlings  per  shift. 

The  Pieecing  Operation 

The  upset  pieces  pushed  off  the  steam-hammer  block 
drop  into  the  chute  A,  Fig.  4,  whence  they  are  trans- 


Fig.  4.    Upsetting  the  Blanks 

ferred  while  hot  to  the  furnace  A,  Fig.  5.  Owing  to 
their  initial  high  temperature,  a  short  time  in  the  furnace 
is  sufficient  to  bring  them  to  forging  temperature.    The 


Fig.  2.    Furnace  and  Cutting-Off  Machine 


shown  at  B,  Fig.  1.  With  a  new  die  in  the  hammer 
head,  the  upset  piece  readily  drops  out,  and  one  man  can 
handle  the  upsetting  operation.  When  the  die  becomes 
worn,  help  is  necessary  and  the  two  other  men  of  the 
gang  assist  at  the  upsetting.  The  man  to  the  left  in 
Fig.  4  has  a  block  of  steel  which,  when  placed  as  shown 
and  struck  with  the  hammer,  jars  the  upset  blank  out  of 


punch  B,  shown  in  detail  in  Fig.  10,  is  secured  in  the 
head.  The  block  C  is  bored  to  receive  the  die  D,  shown 
in  detail  in  Fig.  11. 

The  piercing  operation  is  m  reality  two  operations 
done  with  the  same  punch  and  die.  When  the  upset 
blanks  B,  Fig.  1,  are  heated  sufficiently,  one  of  the 
piercing  gang  pulls  one  from  the  furnace  A,   Fig.   5, 


[94] 


with  the  hook  E.  It  falls  into  the  chute  F  and,  rolling 
down,  is  taken  by  the  smith  with  a  pair  of  pick-ups  and 
placed  in  the  die  D.  Two  or  three  blows  with  the 
hammer  drive  the  punch  2~y2  in.  into  the  work  and 
lengthen  it  about  %  to  %  in.  After  this  operation  the 
blank  is  4%  in.  high,  3%  in.  diameter  at  the  bottom, 
4y2  in.  at  the  top,  and  has  a  3-in.  hole  2y2  in.  deep. 
After  removal  from  the  die  it  is  returned  to  the  furnace 


Fig.  6.    First  and  Second  Drawing  Operations 

to  be  heated  for  the  final  piercing  operation.  This  is 
done  with  the  same  punch  and  die  and  in  the  same 
manner,  resulting  in  a  blank  measuring  5%  in.  high, 
3%  in.  diam.  at  the  bottom,  4%  in.  at  the  top,  and  has 
a  3-in.  hole  3%  in.  deep. 

First  Drawing  Operation 

On   completion  of  the  second  piercing  operation,  or 
the  fourth  operation  of  the  series,  the  work,  while  still 


drawing  operation  and  the  twc-  at  the  bank  for  the  second 
drawing  operation,  shown  respectively  by  the  shells  E 
and  F  in  Fig.  1. 

The  two  dies  for  the  first  drawing  operation  are  of 
chilled  iron  as  shown  in  the  detail  Fig.  12  with  a  3%-in. 
hole.  Both  sets  of  dies  are  used  alternately  to  prevent 
overheating.  The  hot  blanks  are  taken  direct  from  the 
previous  operation  and,  held  with  a  pair  of  pick-ups, 
are  slipped  over  the  end  of  Jhe  advancing  punch.  This 
forces  the  work  through  the  drawing  die  and  at  the  com- 
pletion of  the  stroke  pushes  it  into  a  base-forming  die 
seated  in  the  fixture  at  B.  The  effect  of  this  base-forming 
die  can  be  readily  seen  at  the  bottom  of  the  pieces  E 
and  F,  Fig.  1.  The  bottom-forming  die  is  shown  in 
the  detail,  Fig.  13.  The  bulldozer  runs  at  a  speed  of 
9  strokes  per  minute. 

After  being  formed  to  the  shape  shown  at  E  Fig.  1, 
the  hot  piece  is  returned  to  the  furnace.  The  work  comes 
from  the  first  drawing  operation,  6  in.  long,  3%  in, 
diameter  at  the  top,  3%  in.  at  the  bottom,  and  has  a 
3-in.  hole  5  in.  deep. 

Second  Drawing  Operation 

The  blanks  from  the  first  drawing  operation,  having 
reached  a  full  yellow  heat,  are  pushed  through  the  second 
drawing  dies  in  the  bulldozer,  Fig.  6.  These  are 
similar  to  the  first  operation  drawing  dies,  except  that 
they  are  %  in.  smaller  in  diameter,  measuring  3%  in. 
at  the  small  end  of  the  throat.  The  punches  used  for 
all  the  drawing  operations  are  as  shown  in  Fig.  14. 
From  the  second  drawing  operation  the  work  is  as  shown 
at  F,  Fig.  1,  8%  in-  long,  3%  in.  diameter,  with  a  3-in. 
hole  7%  in.  deep. 

Third  and  Final  Drawing  Operation 

The  work  is  taken  direct  from  the  fixture  A,  Fig.  6, 
and  without  reheating  is  passed  through  the  final  draw- 


'Fig.  5.     First  and  Second  Piercing  Operations 


hot,  is  thrown  into  the  chute  G,  Fig.  5.  Polling  to  the 
other  end,  it  is  taken  and  placed  without  reheating  in 
the   first-operation   drawing  die. 

The  bulldozer,  Fig.  6,  is  provided  with  four  punches 
and  four  dies.     The  +wo  at  the  front  are  for  the  first 


ing  operation.  The  operator  takes  the  piece  from  the 
machine  A,  Fig.  7.  Holding  it  with  a  pair  of  tongs, 
gripping  the  wall  of  the  open  end,  he  lays  it  on  the  iron 
plate  B.  With  a  heavy  hand  hammer  he  pounds  the 
outside  as  he  turns  the  piece.     This  loosens  the  scale 


[95] 


on  the  inside.  Ha-.tiien  passes  the  piece  to  the  feeder 
of  the  last-operation  bulldozer.  This  man  grips  it  with 
a  pair  of  pick-ups,  and  swinging  over  his  head,  brings  it 
mouth  down  on  the  machine  frame  at  0,  jarring  the 
loose  scale  out.  It  is  then  put  on  the  punch  and  passed 
through  the  final-operation  die.  In  this  machine  the 
base-forming  die  is  replaced  with  a  flat  die  which,  just 
at  the  completion  of  the  stroke,  flattens  the  bottom  and 


reheatings  are  done  on  metal  which  is  seldom  allowed  to 
get  below  a  full-red  heat,  so  that  the  consumption  of 
fuel  and  loss  of  time  in  heating  are  insignificant.  This 
method  of  handling  the  work  results  in  considerably  less 
scale  trouble,  and  the  finished  work,  as  shown  at  G,  is 
practically  without  scale. 

The    present   output   of   the   30   men    (8   gangs)    is 
1200  finished  forgings  every  24  hours.     With  the  in- 


Fig.  7.    Arrangement  of  Machines  for  Drawing  Operation 


imprints  the  company's  mark.  The  work  is  then  laid 
on  D,  where  the  inspector  gages  it,  after  which  it  is 
placed  for  a  few  moments  in  the  furnace  E  to  relieve 
stresses  caused  by  forging  at  the  comparatively  low 
temperature. 

The  work  from  the  final  drawing  operation  is  101/2  in. 
long,  314  in.  diameter,  with  a  3-in.  hole  9%  in  deep. 


Dimension  A~3gJ±> 'Op. 
■ii^"-d0j}. 


'ili^Op. 


\                / 

A 

1 
1 

r^-i 

"**> 

1            * 

1      1 

*1 

V 

Y 

stallation  of  another  steam  hammer,  which  has  been 
moved  from  another  part  of  the  works,  it  is  expected  that 
the  output  (with  3  more  men)  will  be  doubled,  as  the 
two  bulldozers  are  at  present  idle  about  half  the  time. 
The  methods  used  are  improvements  based  on  the  early 
practice  of  the  Montreal  Locomotive  Co.  before  their 
present  special  machines  were  installed.  The  tools  and  the 


^3^. 


FI6.8  CUTTING  OFF  DIES 


F/G.9  UPSETTING  DIE 


FIG.Ii  BRAWNS  DIES 


FIS.Ii  BASE 
FORMING  DIE 


FIG  II  PUNCH  FOB 

Sr-",6VAW7rJ 

OPERATIONS 


Figs.  8  to  14.    Details  of  Punches  and  Dies  Used  in  Forging  Shrapnel-Shell  Blanks  on  Steam  Hammers 

and  Bulldozers 


It  has  an  imprint  on  the  bottom  "C.C."  with  a  "T"     method  of  stripping  the  work  and  mounting  the  dies  and 


below,    signifying    Canadian    Car    and    Foundry    Co., 
Turcot  Works. 

General  Features 

Each  of  the  four  gangs  (in  a  shift)  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  first,  which  has  three  men,  is  composed 
of  four  men.  Each  gang  handles  two  operations.  The 
work  is  heated  once  for  each  two  operations.    The  various 


punches  are,  with  slight  modifications,  as  shown  in 
the  article  beginning  on  page  889,  Vol.  42.  It  is  therefore 
unnecessary  to  reproduce  them  here. 


[96j 


.  <*4 


Yt  099/  3 


(fF7> 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


